A King of Infinite Space
by SunnyBaby
Summary: Gil is the target of someone's twisted revenge. How dark can it get? Story now complete. Enjoy!
1. It's Raining in Vegas

A King of Infinite Space

A King of Infinite Space

_Prologue_

It was raining in Vegas.

Outside the thunder clapped and rain splattered against the tiny window. It ran in streaks down the crusted dirt and left tiny trails across the glass's surface. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the tiny cramped space where he lay. Oblivious to the torrent outside, he slept. His gray curls rested in the slowly thickening blood pool beneath his fractured scalp. His left wrist turned unnaturally inward beneath his wheezing torso. He lay in the dirt and the mud unaware of the frantic searching for him going on in the city of sin. He shivered slightly in his sleep but did not wake. Beneath his bruised lids, his eyes twitched in a dream.

_Sara_

_Sara_

_Sara_

Her name echoed in his head. She seemed to call out to him, but he could not answer her. His lungs moved in a steady rhythm, mimicking the driving rain.

_Sara_

_Sara_

_Sara_

_Help me._

**AN: This is my latest adventure. It was lodged in my brain and had to be released. You know how that goes. Kinda short.**


	2. Sleeping Soundly

Twenty Four Hours Earlier

Gil Grissom woke before the alarm clock. He had a strange habit of doing that on most nights. It was almost as if his body was so in tune to his circadian rhythm that he no longer needed that bone jarring beeping to rouse him from his rest. He slowly popped open one eyelid and looked at the glaring red numerals. 6:52. The PM dot was illuminated. He turned off the alarm and rolled back onto his back. He sighed heavily and closed his eyelid. Grabbing the comforter with his right hand, he yanked it over his head and sank further down into the bed. Since Sara's departure he had lingered longer and longer each night before finally getting out of bed. The sadness and misery of her absence almost caused his bones to ache. As he snuggled down into the bed he could still smell her on the blankets. He knew it seemed disgusting, but he hadn't washed the blankets since she left. That way he could smell her each night and imagine that she was lying beside him with her head on his shoulder. Sometimes he swore that he could feel a little drool puddle on his arm. Sara sometimes slept with her mouth slightly open and many mornings he had awoken to a wet shirt sleeve. She was embarrassed. He found it endearing.

He smiled at the memory and decided to remove the comforter from his face. Opening both eyes this time he looked at the clock. 7:12 PM. He let loose another long sigh and slowly sat up on the side of the bed. His back muscles were tight and he felt a little twinge of pain when he swung his legs over the side of the bed and set his feet on the floor. He plodded barefoot to the bathroom. Stripping off his clothes he gazed into the mirror above the sink. He looked haggard and tired. He rubbed his face and turned away from his reflection. He stepped into the shower and tried to let the sadness wash down the drain with the soap suds.

A while later he was perched on a barstool in the kitchen waiting on the coffee to finish percolating. He munched absentmindedly on a half stale bagel with garlic cream cheese and read the daily paper. He was so engrossed in the article about the new arachnid exhibit at the museum that he never heard the patio door slowly slide open. As he began to pour a cup of the now finished coffee, something hard crashed down onto the back of his head. The last thing he remembered was the heat of the coffee as the carafe hit the ceramic floor tiles and shattered splashing his legs.


	3. Late For Work?

Current Time: 12:13 AM.

Detective Jim Brass stood inside his office brooding. His office phone was in his left hand and his cell phone was clutched tightly in his right. A small bead of sweat dripped off the end of his nose and he brushed it off with the back of his right hand. He slammed the office phone down in its cradle. "Dammit! Gil, your stupid ass is never late! You'd better have a good explanation for missing shift." He yelled at his empty office. Checking his cell phone once more and seeing no incoming calls on the ID, he thrust it in his pocket and headed over to the CSI lab to see if he could locate graveyard's missing supervisor. Slamming the door behind him he never noticed the manila envelope that had been left in front of his office door.

CSI Lab Break Room 12:30 AM

Catherine Willows was almost beside herself with annoyance. She paced the floor of the breakroom like a rabid tigress. She sighed and gritted her teeth. "When he gets here I'm going to kill him for wasting my time. Doesn't he know that I have better things to do than wait around here for him all night? He's probably somewhere brooding like a big baby over his poor little Sara running off on him…"

"Shut it Catherine!" Nick rose from the sofa and stopped directly in front of her pacing path. He looked her in the eyes and repeated softly but firmly, "That's enough about Sara Catherine. You crossed a line that time."

Greg stopped pouring his coffee and replaced the pot. He turned to glare at Catherine.

"Nick's right Catherine. You know Grissom's been different since she left. Stop faulting him for that. I doubt that he's off somewhere brooding. Did you stop to think that he might be sick? He did have walking pneumonia a few months ago. Maybe it returned and he's sleeping. Stop thinking about how he's inconvenienced you and try calling him." Greg's last sentence was laced with venom and Catherine immediately picked up on his tone.

"Don't tell me what to do Greg! I have tried calling him and he's not answering. I even called Brass to see if he would send a uniform to his townhouse to check on him. Don't you dare insinuate that I don't care!" She stamped her heel on the tiles and placed both hands on her hips. Greg could see the red flush creep up her neck and he wisely backed off.

"Alright. Enough, all three of you." Warrick said emphatically. "We just need to figure out why he's late. What case was he working on? Maybe he's at a scene?"

"Well, we wrapped the Dinson case yesterday before end of shift so that's not it." Nick paused and rubbed his chin. "He could have taken some paperwork home and fallen asleep on the pile of forms." Three pairs of eyes glared at him and Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I've seen him do it before."

"You've seen Grissom fall asleep on files? Where was I with my camera?" Greg waggled his eyebrows. "Prime blackmail material for a promotion."

"Funny Greg. If you ever tried to show those photos to anyone, Grissom would have you practically living in the nearest dumpster he could find analyzing every stain and particle in it. We'd change your name from Greg to Dumpster Dan." Warrick chuckled. Greg stared at him wide eyed.

"Dumpster Dan? He wouldn't? Seriously?" Greg looked nervous.

"Yeah he would." Nick smirked. " Grissom hates his privacy violated and photos of him taking a snooze on company time would definitely violate his personal space. You dumbass."

Greg clutched his chest and pretended to faint. "Aww Nick…you cut me deep. I may never recover."

"OK children. Now, let's keep thinking. Could he have gone to see Sara and not told anyone?" Catherine scratched her lower lip and continued her thought, "No, he would have told Ecklie who in turn would have ordered me to take over grave and I would have called Gil and yelled at him for not giving me any notice. So going to Sara's out."

"Boy, I love your reasoning Cat. Makes a whole lot of sense." Warrick rolled his eyes and sat down.

"Do you have a better idea?" She pouted and sat down next to him.

"Not really. Have you heard from Brass yet?" He asked.

"I'm right here Rick, and no, I haven't heard from him either. I have two uniforms on there way to his townhouse to check things out. Until I hear back from them, has anyone gotten a call from him in the last 12 hours or so?"

Everyone shook their heads no.

"Ok. Let's check his office. Catherine, I know you have a hidden spare key so hand it over."

"Jim, I have no idea what key you are referring to." She smiled sweetly.

"Bull. Give it." He smirked.

She reached into her pocket and took out a keyring. She flipped through the keys until she came to the office key and held it up. "You know how hard it was to get this? I to wait until he laid them down and then sneak an impression. Don't take it off the keyring."

"Catherine, you sneaky minx." Nick smiled at her and she grinned back.

Brass took the keyring and the group headed to Grissom's office. They entered the dark space and looked around. Everything was how they remembered it from the previous shift. All the paperwork was still on his desk and his laptop was turned off.

"Hmm….it seems to be just as he left it. Do you guys see anything probative?" Brass said gazing into the dim light of the office.

"Nope. It looks the same to me. Now what?" Greg asked.

"Well, wait until we hear from the officers at his place and wait for an assignment to come in. I'll check his messages with Judy and try calling him again." Jim started. At that moment his cell phone rang.

"Brass. Uhuh. You sure? Ok. I'll send a crew over. Stay put."

Brass sighed and looked at the anxious eyes staring at him. " Uniforms knocked for 5 minutes. When no one answered they went around the back of the unit and found the patio door partially open. They went in and found evidence of a slight struggle and no Grissom. "

"What about Hank?" Greg looked at Brass.

"He was in the backyard asleep. It seems he might have been drugged to keep him from barking. They called for an emergency Vet to meet you at the scene. You know Ecklie will probably take this case from us in the morning. So find out everything that you can before sunrise." Brass rubbed his eyes. "It looks like Gil is going to be listed as a missing person."

Catherine's hand flew to her mouth and she drew in a breath. "We're leaving now." She whispered and the team flew to their cars. Dawn would be breaking soon.


	4. Nothing To See Here

3:15 AM

3:15 AM

Catherine sighed as she stretched from her crouching position. He knees groaned from the effort as she stood up and looked around towards Nick's position. She and the graveyard boys had spent the last two hours processing Grissom's townhouse. They had very little to go on aside from the broken coffee carafe and the open patio door. Warrick was in the master suite and Greg was in the garage. Nick stood in the kitchen with his hands braced on the countertop. He looked into Catherine's eyes and echoed her deep sight.

"There's nothing here Cath. We've bagged everything here that's even remotely relevant. I have no fibers, no errant prints, no hairs, no nothing. It's like Gris wiped the whole place down with industrial Clorox." Nick rubbed his brow.

"Nicky, he cleans everything with industrial Clorox. Just bag and print everything and we'll sort it out at the lab. Were there any prints on the patio door jamb?"

"Nope. Smudges and swipes. It was wiped clean." She responded. Catherine ran her hand through her hair and walked to the refrigerator. "Hmmm…he still has that picture of him and Sara in San Fran." She lifted the photo from the door and smiled. She waved it at Nicky who took it from her hand.

"Nice. They are good at keeping secrets aren't they?" He mused.

"Yeah. I've known Gris for years and he's managed to keep most of his personal life hidden from me. I know next to nothing about him or his life before I started at CSI. He's so guarded. So intensely private. I am envious that Sara can get him to open up. By the way, has anyone called her yet?"

"Yeah, Brass was going to take care of it once they got a hold of Gris' cell phone records. He's pretty sure that they have been talking on the phone."

"Good. Nicky, I'm at a loss here. I've seen some pristine crime scenes before, but this one is almost hospital clean. I know Gris is a neat freak, but there should be something his assailant left behind. I'm not leaving here until I find something." She returned to a crouching position and began to reexamine the stretch of carpet in front of the patio doors. She and Nick worked in silence, creeping, crawling, reaching, photographing, and analyzing every square inch of Grissom's townhouse. Finally as dawn was breaking, Catherine shouted out to Nick and the guys.

"Hey! We should start wrapping up before days gets here and tries to confiscate all of our evidence. You guys finished?"

"Yeah Cath, ready when you…." Warrick was cut off by the ringing of Grissom's home telephone. Finally the answering machine kicked on and they were treated to Grissom and Sara's voices floating through the silent living room. After the beep the caller spoke:

"Hey, it's me again. " A soft female voice began. " This is the third time I've called your phone and you're still not answering. I just wanted to remind you that we'll be arriving at gate 14 tomorrow at 8 AM so don't be late this time. Ha ha, I'm just kidding. Anyway, I've got a little one here who's anxious to see you again. Be safe. Kiss Hank for me. I love you! Bye."

The night crew stood staring silently at the answering machine.

"Who the hell was that?" Catherine yelled. "Gil has a girl calling him to pick her up at the airport! What the hell?"

"That didn't sound like Sara guys." Greg stammered. He swallowed hard. "Do you think Gris has another lady on the side?"

"No way Greg. That's not like him man. Play that again Cath." Warrick motioned toward the machine.

Catherine hit play and they stood listening to the message twice more. Catherine cocked her head to the right and suddenly started gesturing wildly.

"Guys, did you hear what she said 'a little one'! I swear I can hear a child babbling in the background. I think Gris has a kid somewhere and he's hiding it from Sara." She was practically screaming now.

"Catherine. Settle down dammit! Lets' try to figure this out rationally. Let's have Archie analyze the message and trace the call. That'll give us some more information before we start planning his downfall. Remember that Gris is missing after all."

Hey, if he's got an illegitimate kid, maybe someone's angry daddy came to teach him a lesson." Greg smirked.

"Funny Greggo. You are full of insight. Let's get this machine to the lab and get to work finding our boss." Nick put the answering machine in a paper bag and they quietly left the townhouse.


	5. Making The Phone Call

AN: I thought that I would give you two chapters tonight since I have been slacking off on my writing lately

_**AN: I thought that I would give you two chapters tonight since I have been slacking off on my writing lately. I apologize but parent teacher conferences are coming up this week and I have been up to my eyeballs in paperwork getting ready. **_

5:07 AM

Brass didn't want to make this phone call. He was actually a bit nauseous as he studied the printout that Archie had handed him. They had determined which number was Sara's based solely on the frequency of it's appearance and the correct area code. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes with a weary hand a dialed the digits. After four rings she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Sara?"

"Jim, how did you get this number?"

"Sara, I hate to be the one to tell you but…."

"Oh God, is he, is he….?" Brass heard a choked sob on the other end of the line.

"No Sara. We think he's still alive. He's missing."

"How long?"

"He didn't show up for shift tonight but no one's really seen him since he left at the end of last shift. Have you heard from him recently?"

"Yesterday afternoon. He called me before he lay down to sleep. It's our routine."

"Sara, can you get here? Do you need a plane ticket?"

"No, I'll be there as today. I'll call you from the airport. Jim, tell me how are his odds? I mean…"

"Not good Sara. There was no evidence left at the scene. We don't have much to go on. But, the whole team is working on it."

"Find my baby for me Jim. I can't live without him." He could hear her sobbing openly now.

"We will. I promise. Get here as soon as you can Sara."

He heard the line click and he knew that she had hung up in order to get a plane ticket. He rubbed his face again flicking away a silent tear before anyone could see.

6: 30 AM.

Catherine, Greg, Nick and Warrick were stuffed like sardines into Archie's AV lab waiting on him to finish his analysis of the answering machine message. The remaining small traces of evidence they had recovered from the townhouse had led no where and they were confident that this mystery female caller might lead them to their boss. Well, at least Catherine was confident. The guys sat on the metal stools staring at the voice print analysis on Archie's screen.

"Well, I can tell a few things from this message." Archie began looking at the worried crew. "The caller is a fairly young female, I'd guess about mid twenties. I can detect a bit of a Southern California accent mixed with a bit of the Midwest."

"You can tell that just from a twenty second message?" Greg questioned.

"Hey, I'm just that damn good Greg. Now, can I go on?" Archie smiled. Greg nodded and sat back on his stool with his arms folded.

"OK, I can hear a small child in the background along with a TV. Sounds like a kid's show. I heard ocean waves and a dog barking too. On further analysis, I think the caller is walking around while she's on the phone. I can hear heels hitting hardwood. Oh, and I can confirm that the call came from a cell phone. Here's the kicker though. I can't get an ID on the owner for you."

"Why not?" Nick asked.

"Because, the phone is LAPD department issue. There's no name assigned to the phone, just to the specific department that issued it."

"Which is?" Warrick gestured.

"LAPD CSI lab."

"Ok. So who ever Gris is having an illicit affair with works for LA CSI?" Catherine raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled.

"Looks that way guys." Brass appeared at the door holding a sheet of paper.

"LAPD won't release the name of the phone holder without a court order they said and I quote 'We don't care who's missing, our cell phones are private.'."

"So much for professional courtesy." Catherine crossed her arms and leaned into the doorframe. Suddenly a smile crossed her lips and she grabbed the paper from Brass's hand.

"Cath, what the hell are you doing?" Brass stated gruffly.

"I'm calling the number." She opened her cell phone and pushed the speakerphone button. They all listened intently as she dialed the number. It rang four times and Catherine reached for the end call button when someone picked up.

"Hello, this is Evangeline. Who is this?"

"Umm, this is Catherine from Southwest airlines. I'm calling to confirm your reservation for tomorrow morning." Catherine covered the mouthpiece of the phone a shrugged her shoulders at the night shift. They silently urged her to continue.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry for sounding so gruff. I'm trying to get my daughter back to bed, she's been up all night with a head cold. What information do you need."

"Well ma'am. Could you verify your name and address for me please?" Catherine bluffed.

"Sure, Evangeline Grissom. 2435 Vista Lane, Marina Del Ray, California." Greg nearly chocked on his coffee and Nick put a hand over his mouth. Brass stared incredulously at the phone.

"Thank you madam. How many adult and child tickets?" Catherine continued.

"Two adult and 1 child. Josephine's three. Could I get a cockpit pass for her? She's fascinated with planes."

"Sure ma'am. I'll make a note of that. Thank you very much and enjoy your flight." Catherine smiled.

"Ok, bye." The line went dead.

"Umm…well….I …um…." Brass stuttered.

"Holy Hell!!" Nick yelled. "Did you hear her name? She said that she was Evangeline GRISSOM!! Gris is married to another woman and had a kid? He's two-timing Sara?! She'll kill him….wait, I'll kill him!!" Nick's face was red and he was starting to sweat.

"No no no!" Warrick pounded his fist on the table. "This isn't right. He can't be married to someone chick in LA and have a little girl. That's so screwed up. Damn. When he finally gets his head out of the microscope he does it bigtime."

"Brass, I want all the info you can dig up on this Evangeline Grissom. In the meantime, we need to get an APB out on Grissom in case someone spotted something. Canvas the neighborhood. Go door to door if you have to. We need to find him." Catherine stomped out of the AV lab in a huff and everyone scattered.


	6. Alone and Cold

Thanks for the positive reviews so far

**Thanks for the positive reviews so far. I have a direction for this story so stay with me. I wrote this while listening to Leona Lewis on repeat. She kinda inspired my fingers to just go for it. Once again, if this stinks, please let me know. Ignore my mistakes, I write from the heart. I do not own the characters; however I have hired Greg to be my personal maid. He sucks at windows though. He spends too much time analyzing the smudges instead of cleaning them. **

Grissom could feel the blood as it pooled and stuck to his cool cheek. He gingerly brought his good hand to his face and attempted to wipe some if it away. Sitting up he pushed down the nausea that rose in his throat and took a few deep breaths. The pain shot through his chest and he gasped.

'Damn, I must have a couple of broken ribs.' He thought. Sighing gently, he focused his eyes on his meager surroundings. He was sitting on a mostly dirt floor. It seemed to be a basement of some sort with a tiny window cut into the cinder block wall. He could see the rain tricking down the grate covered glass. The room was only about 10 feet square and he could see no doors. How did he get in here? Glancing above his head he noticed a small square in the ceiling illuminated by a sliver of light at its edges.

'Ahhh…a cellar door in the floor. They must have tossed me down here.' He grimaced at the pain thumping through his battered skull. He removed his now broken glasses and rubbed his eyes. There was no food, no water and no where to well, do his business if he needed to. Just four grey walls and dirt. Gently rising to his feet he tiptoed to the tiny window to attempt to ascertain his location. He saw nothing outside. No lights, no buildings, no cars. He reasoned that he must be in the desert or mountains. The mountains were more likely since it's nearly impossible to dig a cellar in the hard desert earth around Vegas. Why was he taken? Which unhinged criminal had he angered enough to steal him away in the night and beat the crap out of him? Who had he pissed off this time? He dealt with threats from convicts daily. Crazy people who viewed him as the reason for their incarcerations. People who refused to take responsibility for their own actions. He had been verbally threatened before. He had even been assaulted once or twice. He had watched as deputies pulled a hysterical suspect away as they screamed obscenities at him. It was part of the job after all. He knew the risks when he started in LA. He was always in danger and so was his family. Natalie was proof of that. Sara's abduction had made him realize that this job would surely kill him one day. Or even worse, it would kill someone that he loved. That would be worse than his own demise.

He stepped away from the window and returned to his position on the floor. His head and chest ached and his left wrist was probably broken. His thoughts turned to Sara. Did she know he was missing? He assumed that the graveyard shift had noticed his absence by now and that they had searched the townhouse. He was hoping that there was some evidence left behind that would leave a clue. He had the best team in Vegas he knew that. Hell, Warrick could get a print off of air. Cath, Nick and Greg would not sleep or eat until he was found. That thought momentarily raised his spirits and he allowed himself a small smile. He then thought of his mother. He wanted to see her smile once again. She was the only person who really understood him. Sara said that she did, but there were things he hid away deep in his psyche that only his mother could find and appreciate. She would be 75 soon. He had a huge party planned for her. He had to get out of here and get her cake ordered.

Oh….his mind was wandering now. He needed to stay calm. He tried to find a comfortable position to stretch out in. Moving even an inch was painful and his chest now burned like the scorching pavement in July. He eased himself onto the cool dirt and closed his eyes. He knew that he needed to stay awake because he thought that he had a concussion, but the urge to sleep was too powerful. His last thoughts before drifting off were of his mother, Sara, and a girl who would be waiting for him at the airport in the morning.


	7. The Girl in the Airport

The next day

The next day

8:35 AM

Sara didn't even wait for the flight attendants to welcome her to Las Vegas before she was up out of her seat and unbuckling her seat belt. She sat fidgeting with her small carry on duffel bag until the plane pulled into the gate and the doors were opened. She was already frustrated at having a 4 hour lay over in Los Angeles due to thunderstorms. They picked up a few more passengers at LAX and the plane had continued on its journey. Grimacing at the slowness of people departing the plane, she scowled at the flight attendant who told her to "Have a nice stay in Vegas!' and huffed off. Bolting from the tunnel she burst into McCarran airport like a tornado. After apologizing for nearly knocking down a woman who was wrestling a small child and an elderly woman near baggage claim, she sprinted out into the parking lot. Hailing the first taxi she spotted she leapt in and rattled off the address of the Las Vegas Crime Lab and settled in for a short ride down the highway forgetting about her promise to call Brass when she landed.

8:45 AM

Jim Brass and Nick Stokes stood in the concourse of McCarran Airport scanning the crowd. In his hand, Jim held a LAPD ID photo that had been faxed to him at the start of last night's shift. He and Nick had decided to find the woman who called herself Evangeline Grissom when she arrived in Las Vegas to see if she might help them with the case. For all they knew, she was an imposter, a psycho, or some distant relative. Jim knew better than to jump to conclusions when it came to Grissom or his private life. The man was sealed tighter than Tut's tomb about his personal life and Jim was no Howard Carter.

Nick craned his neck to see above the crowd.

"Brass, I think I see her. Does she have a kid with her?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Now, let's approach her with some decorum Stokes. Let's not assume anything until she tells us what's going on. Kay?" Brass stuffed the picture into his breast pocket and made sure that his LVPD badge was clearly visible. "Let's go."

Jim and Nick made their way through the crowd to the trio who were now standing at the baggage claim. The younger woman had a sleeping toddler balanced on her left shoulder and was dialing a cell phone with her right hand. She snapped it shut after a minute and returned it to her pocket. Then she did something that made Jim Brass stop dead in his tracks. She turned to the older woman standing next to her and started signing. He placed a hand on Nick's chest stopping him in mid stride.

"What Jim?"

"Look. I think the woman with her is deaf. She's the right age. It's been a while, but I know that she looks familiar to me." Brass scratched his chin and squinted.

"Whaddaya mean Jim? Who is she?" Nick looked at Jim and waited for a response.

"Nicky, I think she's Grissom's mother. I haven't seen her in years, but she looks pretty much the same."

"You sure?" Nick looked confused.

"Yeah. So, maybe this Evangeline is Grissom's niece or cousin or something. Not a secret wife."

"Jim, he's an only child isn't he?"

Brass paused for a minute then shrugged his shoulders. "I think so. But I'm not really sure. He doesn't talk about his family much. She could be a niece or a cousin."

"Ahh hell Jim. Lets' just go find out." Nick resumed walking towards the trio.

Jim and Nick stopped directly behind the younger woman and Brass cleared his throat. "Evangeline Grissom?

The woman turned around. "Yes, that's me. Who are you?" Her eyes fell to Brass's police badge and she raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Is there a problem officer?"

The older woman stared intently at Brass for a moment and then spoke in stunted words.

"Jimmy? Jimmy? Is that you?"

Brass smiled and took her hands in his. "Ava, my dear. It's been a long time. You are still just as lovely as you were all those years ago. What brings you to Vegas?" He spoke directly to her. His gaze never left hers.

"Jimmy, we're here to see Gil. Why didn't he meet us? Is he out in the field? Josie really wants to see him." She glanced around the airport looking for a glimpse of her son and finding none.

"Ava." Brass put a finger gently under her chin and spoke again, "Ava. We need to talk. But first, who is this lovely young lady with you? Is she your interpreter?"

Ava Grissom stared at him incredulously and then started laughing. "Oh Jimmy, I haven't needed an interpreter in thirty years. You don't recognize Evangeline do you? I know you haven't seen her in years, but you should remember my daughter Jimmy."

Nick's mouth dropped open and he stammered, "Daughter? You mean she's Grissom's….."

"Yes, I'm his sister. Actually, I'm his half sister. And this young beauty currently putting my arm to sleep is my daughter, Josephine." Evangeline spoke softly.

"Jimmy, I'm surprised that you forgot about us. It hasn't been than long since we've seen each other." Ava smiled at him.

Brass scrunched up his face as if he were trying to remember details from that brief meeting all those years ago. He had stopped by Grissom's condo once only to have a little girl about 10 years old answer the door. After some prodding, Gil had let Brass in and introduced him to Ava and Evangeline. Brass snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the women to explain.

"Ava, Gil didn't tell me she was your daughter. He said that she was a cousin's child and he was babysitting. I swear, I had no idea that Little Jilly Bean was your child. I'm so sorry Ava. Evangeline, do you forgive me?" Brass took her free hand and smiled.

"Yes Jim, I forgive you. You know that Gil is not very forthcoming with family information. I'm sorry that this comes as a shock to you. But, you know him. By the way, where the hell is he? I called three times to remind him that our plane was coming in this morning. We need to get to the townhouse so we can get settled. I only have three days of vacation. Why are you staring at me like that?" She stopped and glared at Nick.

"Well, I never thought that I would see the day that I met any of Griss's family. Let alone a sibling. I mean…I always thought that maybe he'd have a family with Sara, but…"

"Wait, who's Sara?" Evangeline lowered her glasses and stared at Nick. "Is that his girlfriend or something?"

"Umm…he never told you about Sara?" Brass looked from Ava to Evangeline who both shook their heads. "Well, um…she's actually his fiancée."

Ava's hands flew as she spoke, "What? He's engaged and didn't tell me? Didn't I teach that boy anything? I swear, when he gets here I'm going to turn him over my knee."

"Mother" Evangeline signed. "I knew that he sounded happier in the last few months. I wonder why he never said anything to us about her."

"I don't know. But she's been in San Francisco visiting family and was supposed to fly into Vegas today. I was hoping to pick her up too." Brass said.

"What are you not telling us Jim?" Evangeline glared as the child on her shoulder stirred. She rubbed her back and waited for an answer.

"Gil was abducted from the townhouse two nights ago. We have no leads and no evidence. I'm sorry." Brass's eyes glistened and he shut them tightly. He hated telling families the news about their loved ones. Knowing the victim made it harder.

Ava gasped and swayed. Nick grabbed her by the upper arms and led her over to a chair in the concourse. Evangeline stood still lost in thought and then slowly walked over to where they were sitting. Ava looked up at her. Her eyes were flowing with hot tears.

"My baby. My baby boy. I knew this job was bad for him. He never listened to me. And then you.." She pointed at Evangeline, "You do the same work, the same dangerous work, and you have a toddler. Why does no one ever heed my warnings?"

"Mother, enough." Evangeline looked at Brass. "Could you take her for a moment?" She handed Josephine off to him before he could protest. He cradled the sleeping child in his arms for a moment before placing her gently on his right shoulder. Nick smiled as Brass rubbed the child's back and brushed a stray curly hair from her cheek.

"Mom. We will find him. He works with the best CSI's in the US. They're even better than my team. It will be fine." She took Ava's hands in hers and held them. "He will be fine and then we can all enjoy some quality time. Remember, he promised to take us to Lake Meade this trip?"

Ava nodded and swiped her face. Evangeline turned to Nick and Brass. "You have no evidence at all? No note? Prints? Fibers? Nothing?" They both shook their heads.

She continued, "I suppose that I can't help because I'm family, but I am a CSI level 2. I want in on this case. I'll call my supervisor and get an emergency family leave. Gil's only seen my daughter twice since she was born. I want her to grow up knowing her Uncle Gilbert. I will work 24/7 if I have to."

Brass nodded and quietly spoke, "Well, then let's get your luggage and get to the lab. I'm sure there are a lot of people anxious to meet you. Nicky, lead the way."


	8. Love Returns

10:05 AM

10:05 AM

Sara burst through the doors of the LVPD Criminalistics Bureau with a fervor usually reserved for a gulf coast hurricane. Judy called after her as she ran down the hall that she needed a visitor's pass but Sara ignored her and kept going. Her heels slammed onto the cool grey tiles of the lab floor as she headed straight to Grissom's office. She had to see if it was true. She knew Brass would never fabricate such a horrendous story about her love being missing, but she needed to see his empty office with her own eyes in order for her heart to believe it.

She reached the door and drew in a deep breath. With a shaky hand, she turned the door knob and was devastated to find it locked. Dropping her hand to her side she let out the breath she was holding and with it came the flood of hot tears on her cheeks. His phone remained unanswered and the office was darkened. It was true. Gil was gone.

"Sara? Is that you?" Greg's voice snapped her back into reality and she turned to face her dearest friend.

"Oh Sara honey, c'mere." Greg motioned her into his arms. She collapsed into his embrace as the tears fell harder soaking his oxford shirt. Greg stood motionless for a minute, content that he could take away some of her pain. He knew that he could never hold her heart, but he could dry her tears and that in a way, made him feel better.

"Greg? He's really gone isn't he? Oh God. He's gone." Sara's words were choked with sobs and her body shook violently in Greg's arms.

"Yeah Sar, but we're doing everything we can to find him. The whole department is working on this case. I mean, Grissom is the heart of this team. There is no team without him." Greg hugged her tighter and led her into the layout room where Catherine and Warrick were peering over photos of Grissom's townhouse and the few pieces of evidence that they had. Seeing Sara in Greg's arms, Warrick stepped over to her and gently rubbed her forearm.

"Sar, we'll get him back for you. I promise." He said softly. Sara silently nodded her head and gave him a weak smile. She spoke softly, "Guys, can I see what you have? Maybe I can help recognize something in the photos that shouldn't be there. I mean, it's my house too." Sara forced out a stronger grin and looked pleadingly at Catherine.

"Sara, you can't be hands on, but if you can identify anything out of the ordinary, it would help a lot." Catherine said not raising her eyes from the table. Sara slid over beside her and began to peer over the photos. She gently ran her index finger over the photo showing the broken coffee carafe and she smiled. "I bought him that coffee pot last Christmas. It's also makes cappuccino. He loved it." Her expression grew wistful as if she were lost in a memory. Catherine touched her hand and Sara jumped. "Sara, do you notice anything else?" Sara peered at the photos. Her eyes narrowed and she looked at Catherine ," Why did you bring my answering machine into evidence? Was there a ransom message or something on it?"

Catherine looked quickly from her to Warrick. He nodded slightly and Catherine drew in a deep breath.

"Sara, we heard some interesting messages on Gil's, well, your, machine, so we brought it in for Archie to analyze."

"What kind of messages?" Sara crossed her arms defensively and leaned slightly to the left as she stared at the pugnacious blonde.

"Well, they were from a woman. A young woman."  
"And?"

"Well, the young woman was flying into Vegas today for a visit with Gil and she was bringing her child with her."

"Catherine, what in the hell are you implying?" Sara's eyes flashed with fury now.

Catherine swallowed, "Sara, we traced the number she was calling from. It was a LAPD cell phone. Her name is Evangeline Grissom and she's a CSI in LA. She lives in Marina Del Ray, California." She silently braced herself for the anger she knew was coming. After a few seconds when Sara had not said a word, Catherine spoke.

"Sara? Sara?"

Sara stood silently. Her eyes went from full of fury to overflowing with hurt and confusion. "Catherine, does Gil have another family hidden from me?"

"Sara, it seems that way. But we're not sure. You need to know something else. Brass went to the airport to pick her up and bring her to the lab. We need to find out what's going on and we think she may have some answers for us."


	9. The Hope of the Desperate

10:45 AM

10:45 AM

Brass, Nick and the Grissom family pulled into the parking lot of the Lab. Josie was now awake and looking around anxiously. Evangeline and Ava were silent and had been that way most of the trip from the airport. Brass spent the trip glancing into the rear view mirror looking at the two pensive women he was now responsible for. Ava had stared out the side window, her silent tears tracing lines through the wrinkles on her paper like skin. Evangeline had stared straight ahead through the windshield. Her gaze was fixed on nothing but Brass could tell that her mind was working overtime. She had the same look in her eyes that Gil had when he was trying to solve a puzzle and he was getting frustrated. She spoke only once to ask how much further they had to go. Nick had turned around once to notice that she was gripping the handles on her purse so tightly that her knuckles were white and the veins on the backs of her hands were protruding through her delicate peach skin.

The women shaded their eyes from the harsh Nevada sunlight as they stepped from the vehicle. Nick took Ava's arm and Brass guided Evangeline and Josie into the building. The cool air hit them in the face as they stepped inside. Brass retrieved three visitor's passes from Judy, who tried to tell him about Sara, but he brushed her off and the group went down the hallway. Judy sighed and returned to her game of solitaire deciding that they would figure it out sooner or later anyway. They stopped once so that Josie could get a drink from the water fountain and then continued into the lab break room. Evangeline noticed people staring at her from behind their darkened glass walls and she pretended not to notice. However, she suddenly felt very much like a rosy red in a shark tank. They entered the break room to find it surprisingly empty. Brass turned to Nick,

"Get everyone in here now. I want all lab techs, and CSI's. Don't forget Judy and her girls at the front desk." Nick nodded and left the room.

"Ava" Brass looked at the exhausted woman, "We need to introduce you three and then we'll find you somewhere to rest."

Ava shook her head and signed as she spoke, "No way in hell Jimmy. I am staying in this lab until my baby boy comes home!" She sat defiantly down in a chair and crossed her arms. Evangeline just sighed. She looked at Brass and shrugged her shoulders. Josie climbed up in her grandmother's lap and rested her head on her shoulder.

Ava looked on as a crowd of people started to enter the break room and crowd around the trio and Brass. Some looked at them with curiosity, some with confusion. Two women, a blonde and a brunette, seemed to look on in anger. Ava was confused, but decided to wait patiently for Brass to speak. He cleared his throat and looked around.

"Everyone here? Good. I have some people to introduce to you. First, this lovely lady in the chair is Grissom's mother Ava. You need to know that she is deaf, but signs and reads lips so look directly at her when you want to speak to her. Second, this young lady to my left is Grissom's little sister Evangeline. She works for the LAPD CSI lab. Finally, that little darling is Evangeline's daughter Josephine." Brass sighed and looked around the room. His eyes stopped on Sara who was now standing silently in the corner staring. She didn't move or attempt to speak. She had no idea that Gil had a sister and she thought that his mother was dead. He had never mentioned either of them before. She was confused and the room felt very small all of a sudden. The silence was broken by a small stilted voice.

"Mama. Where's Uncky Gil?" Josie looked at her mother and smiled. "I wanna see Ank and Pider momma." Josie looked at her mother and did something that shocked the room; she started signing at her mother while she spoke. Evangeline looked at her daughter and signed back, "He's not here right now baby. We'll see him soon." She looked at the room and spoke, "My daughter was born deaf. It's a family disorder. Mom went deaf when Gil was only eight years old, and he had corrective surgery a few years ago so that he didn't share her fate. So far, my hearing is fine, but my baby was born deaf. Surgery has helped a bit, but she still will never hear my voice." She reached down and mussed Josie's hair. "She misses her Uncle Gil. He let her play with his tarantula on our last visit. She's wondering where it is."

Nick stepped forward. "I can take her to Gil's office if you like. The spider should be in there. Cath, can I have the key?"

"Here," Evangeline reached into her purse and took out her key ring. Nick looked at her questioningly and she continued, "I have a key to his office, his car and the townhouse and he has keys for all of my stuff. It's for those "just in case" times. I guess this counts huh?" Nick nodded and she handed over the key ring. "It's marked GGO. For Gil Grissom's Office." Nick bent down in front of Josie and spoke slowly, "Josie do you want to see the spider?" Ava signed for him and Josie smiled. "Pider, pider!" She hopped off of Ava's lap and looked at her mother. "Ok Momma?" Evangeline nodded and Josie took Nick's hand. "Let's go!" She started to pull him out of the room and Nick followed her. Brass just smiled.

Ava looked around the room at the assembled masses. Her eyes stopped on a frail brunette huddled in the corner. A glint of light from the girl's left hand caught Ava's eye and she spoke. "You must be Sara."

Sara's eyes snapped up and stared at the older woman. Ava's eyes were gentle and welcoming and Sara was drawn into them. They were the same blue as Gil's. Only these eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Ava stretched out a hand toward Sara and Sara stepped forward. "Yes I am." She said tentatively.

"Don't be afraid. I want to meet the woman who finally filled my boy's heart. Come here dear." Ava gently smiled as Sara stepped forward and took her tiny hand in hers. Ava patted her hand and Sara started crying. She leaned down and hugged the woman who had given birth to her greatest love. Sara felt nothing but love emanating from this woman and she cherished the embrace. Sara stood up and turned to Evangeline who was standing still at the end of the table.

"I never knew Gil had a sister. You look so much like him that it's scary. I'm glad to meet you." Sara extended her hand. Evangeline looked nervous for a minute and then took Sara's hand. "It's nice to meet you too. I hope this hasn't been too much for you at one time. My brother never told us that he had a woman in his life. You know how he is." Sara nodded. "Yes I do."

"I hope." Evangeline started with a cracking voice, "That when this is all over we can be a whole family." She stepped forward and wrapped Sara in a warm embrace. When the two women stepped apart they were crying. Brass interrupted the moment, "Ladies. We need to concentrate on finding Gil. Now I need you to recall anything you can out of the ordinary that he might have mentioned in the last few days." They crowd of lab crew slowly dissipated until only the Grissom women, Sara, Brass, Warrick, Greg and Catherine were left. They tossed suggestions around the table trying in vain to come up with someone who would want to hurt Gil. After an hour or so, Nick returned with Josie in his arms.

"Umm…Evangeline? I think she's hungry." Nick said over the dinof the crying child.

Evangeline reached into her purse and pulled out a granola bar which the girl took happily and seated herself on the floor.

A minute later a deputy entered the room carrying a large manila envelope.

"Detective Brass? This was found partially stuck under your door." He handed the envelope to Brass who immediately dropped it on the table. "I need gloves!" He yelled. Greg tossed him a pair and he cautiously opened the envelope. Inside were a few Polaroid photos, a small metal medallion and a lock of bloodied hair. Ava gasped when the hair was removed and placed on the table. Evangeline stared at the photos spread out on the table. They showed Gil unconscious and bleeding on a floor. The shots were far away and close-ups. She could see the bruises on his face and the blood matted in his curls. Sara stared at the images and Greg swore that he heard her heart breaking in her heaving chest. Ava sat transfixed by the images of her son so wounded.

"What's this medallion about?" Nick said as he picked it up and studied it closely.

"It's St. Jude." Evangeline said softly. "Mother got us each one of his medals because he is the patron saint of desperate causes. Gil keeps his in his wallet and I wear mine on a chain." She pulled out a necklace that matched the one Nick held in his hands. "She said that we should invoke him in desperate situations. Now would be a good time. The back should be inscribed by her. Show her." Nick turned the medal over and showed it to Ava who nodded in recognition. "That's Gil's." She signed. "To my son, may St. Jude guide you in helping those who cannot help themselves." Evangeline quoted as her mother signed the inscription. "I'm assuming the hair will be his also." She looked at Sara who was silent. "We need to find him now."


	10. The Horror Begins and Tears Fall

A/N: This chapter gets a bit graphic

**A/N: This chapter gets a bit graphic. Those with squeamish stomachs should shield their eyes. Rating may go up in the next few chapters. I posted three chapters today, I hope you enjoy them. My muse was with me and my hubby was at a ball game. I had time to kill, so to speak. **

Grissom woke again with the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. He rolled onto his side and spit once or twice to clear out the taste. Man, he could use a drink of water. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen any time soon. He gently sat up so that his elbows were resting on his knees and he groaned. Oh Sara. He thought. You must be so worried by now. He closed his eyes to hold back the hot tears he felt there. He would not cry. Men don't cry. Who was he kidding? Sometimes they did. He let out a long sigh and grimaced at the pain in his chest. Suddenly the hatch above his head opened flooding the darkness. He shielded his eyes at the blinding brightness.

"I see that you're awake Dr. Grissom. That's good. I want you aware of what's going on around you. How are those ribs feeling huh?" A menacing voice above him spoke. "Now, shall we have a little fun while we wait for the rest of your family to get here?"

"What do you mean my family? Leave them out of this!" Gil croaked at the unseen voice above his head. "Who are you, you bastard?!"

"Such language Dr. Grissom. That's not how a proper gentlemen speaks, you know. Do you kiss your mother with that dirty mouth? Maybe we should clean it out for you huh? Sounds like a good idea to me." He laughed a deep a resonating laugh and Grissom winced. What did that mean?

Two men dropped a ladder into the dark cellar and climbed down before Grissom could react. He had no where to go or hide and he was in no shape to fight them off. The men each grabbed one of his arms and held him upright. Grissom tried to wrench himself from their grasp, but every move he made aggravated his ribs or his pounding head. The owner of the menacing voice slowly climbed down the ladder carrying a milk crate under one arm. Grissom could hear various items rattling around inside. He tightly closed his eyes and tried not to imagine what could be in there.

"Now Dr. Grissom, let's see what's in the crate eh? Hmmmm…." The man picked through the items. Grissom heard various timbres of metal and glass tinkling and clanking and he grimaced. "Ah ha! I have just the perfect thing Dr. Grissom. This should take care of that dirty mouth of yours." He pulled a bottle from the crate and a wire brush. Quickly, the two men pushed Grissom to the ground and shackled his arms to hooks on the ground. Grissom hadn't noticed them before. They did the same to his ankles until he was laying spread eagled on the dirt floor. One man knelt down next to Grissom's head and placed a knee on either side pinning his head in place. The other man took what looked to be a large set of pliers and pulled Grissom's jaws open. He clamped the pliers onto the end of Grissom's tongue and pulled it out of his mouth.

"Now, don't move Dr. Grissom or I'll have him pull your tongue out. Would you like that?" Grissom shook his head side to side. "Good, now let's clean up that dirty mouth of yours?" The man took the cap off of a bottle of bleach and poured a little into a glass bowl. He dipped the wire brush inside and the proceeded to scrub Grissom's tongue with the brutal concoction. Grissom screamed as the wire cut his tongue into ribbons. The blood flowed down his throat and poured a ribbon down the sides of his mouth and puddle behind his ears when he managed to spit some out or he thrashed his head.

"Now Dr. Grissom. The bleach may taste bad, but it will prevent infection." The man said as he scrubbed harder. Grissom's tears ran down the sides of his face and he attempted to sob from the pain but the pliers prevented him from any sound. Finally his tongue was released and he gently closed his aching jaws. He wept openly and tightly clamped his jaws shut to prevent any further intrusion.

"Ahh Dr. Grissom. You are so ungrateful for my services. I was just cleaning up your dirty mouth. You should thank me for making you a proper gentleman again. Now, what else can we do? Hmmmm?" Grissom heard him rummage around in the crate again and he shuddered.

"Ahh…I have it. This should keep you just uncomfortable enough that you won't go to sleep on me. You will have company soon dear Doctor." He reached into the crate and pulled out a set of large metal skewers. He held one to the shaft of light from the overhead opening and Grissom watched it glimmer. The man twirled it between his fingers and then grabbed Grissom's jaws again. He held the tip of the skewer to Grissom's lower lip and pushed the tip into his skin. The two other men worked in unison to hold Grissom's head still while the man pushed the metal implement through his lower lip and then into his upper lip effectively piercing the two together. Grissom writhed and screamed behind his bleeding, quivering lips.

"Now Dr. Grissom. You can't call for help. Ha ha ha. How does it feel to be so effectively silenced?" Grissom could only cry and pray for deliverance.

Oh God Sara. He prayed. Help me!


	11. Memories, Evil Awakens

_**I am so sorry for the delay. It's the end of the nine weeks and I'm stressed. Please forgive me folks!**_

Greg stared at the computer screen. His bloodshot eyes strained to read through the endless list of names that stretched on in perfect alphabetical order. Brass had asked him to go through every case that Grissom had worked on and search for criminals that had recently been released. He then had to try to cross reference those names with court transcripts to search for any indication that they verbalized a need for revenge. Greg had finished his second pot of Blue Hawaiian coffee and had practically inhaled a whole bag of Cheetos since he began his task. He figured it would be OK to eat in the lab just this once. He stretched and looked at the clock. 9:04 PM. He had been searching for 12 hours and only had three names so far that might be relevant to the investigation. Warrick and Catherine were conducting a house to house search of Grissom's entire neighborhood in case someone had witnessed the abduction. So far, the only thing they had managed to turn up was the elderly woman next door recounting that Hank had suddenly stopped barking sometime around 7:30 PM that night. She hadn't heard anything else, however, she did offer to water Grissom's vegetable garden for him while he was gone. Catherine thanked her and the search continued.

Greg sighed and printed out a fourth possible lead. While he was waiting for the printer, Evangeline walked into the lab holding a fresh cup of coffee.

"Figured you could use this." She smiled as she handed him the warm mug. He nodded and took the cup from her.

"Found anything promising?" She looked over his shoulder at the screen.

"Four possible leads. Each of these pillars of society swore to make Gris, I mean, um, your brother suffer for testifying against them. They have all been released in the last six months. However, two are now in New Mexico and one is in Oregon." Greg said softly, blowing on the steaming coffee. He took a sip and continued; "Only one is still in Nevada. Jason Williamson. Gris testified against him in a rape case. The guy yelled out so much while Grissom was on the stand the bailiff had to gag him for the remained of the afternoon. Says he only got six years, but got out in three for good behavior. That sucks."

Evangeline stood staring at the screen chewing on her bottom lip. Greg noticed her discomfort and stared at her big blue eyes.

"Evangeline, what is it? Do you recognize that guy?"

She nodded. "Yes Greg I do. Jason is Josephine's father." She bolted from the lab leaving a shocked Greg in her wake.

"Evangeline! Wait! Hey!" Greg took off down the hallway after her. Brass and Sara saw him running and followed him. Greg caught up with her outside the LVPD sitting on a bench. She was shaking and wringing her hands. Greg looked at Sara and Brass and then sat down next to her and took her left hand in his. Rubbing her fingers gently he felt her sigh deeply.

"Greg, I though it was over and done with. I was so sure that he would forget about us and move on. I guess I was wrong." She stared at the ground and kicked a rock with the toe of her boot. "He swore revenge on both of us at his trial. He said that Gil made up the evidence to protect his sister. Gil never processed any of the evidence. He just did the trial portion. The case actually belonged to a guy from dayshift that was called out of town at the last minute. Gil interpreted the evidence for the jury so that we could get it over with. Jason, well, he was my boyfriend at the time. We were here visiting Gil when, he, Jason got a little drunk and….and…well, things got a little out of hand. He raped me in the hotel and then went to the casino. While he was gone, I called Gil. He stayed with me through the whole ordeal. I pressed charges against Jason and then found out that I was pregnant. I couldn't get an abortion Greg, the baby was half of me also. I swore that he or she would never feel like they were unwanted. So, I had the baby. Jason went to trial when I was in my seventh month. Gil held my hand the whole time. He told me that Jason would get at least 10-15 years. When the verdict came back as six years, I fainted. I knew that he would come for me or Gil one day. This is my fault." Her chin hung onto her chest and the tears flowed. Greg put his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Evangeline, it's not your fault. This guy is sick. He's a waste of oxygen and protein. Scumbag. Loser!" Greg gestured with his other hand. Evangeline let out a small smile. Greg wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned her chin to him, "that's better now. Dry up Buttercup. We have work to do, remember?"

"Yeah Greg. I know. I have never spoken of this to anyone. Our mother doesn't even know. I was afraid of what she would think of me. She hated Jason anyway. She thinks Josie's father is a one night stand. Humph, she actually accepted that one." Evangeline wiped her eyes on her sleeve and sniffed. She looked up to see Brass and Sara standing in front of her.

"Ummm…I didn't know you were there guys. Sorry." She stammered nervously. Sara cocked her head and looked down at her. "Evangeline, it's ok. I don't blame you for Gil being missing. You have no control over other people. Let's figure out a way to bring him home safe OK?"

"Agreed. Now Greggo, we need a last known address for Mr. Williamson pronto." Brass pointed at the lab door and Greg released Evangeline's shoulder and headed inside.

"I'll get the judge to start the wheels turning on a warrant once Greg gets me an address. You know, you two can't go with me, but if I were to leave the address in plain sight….." Brass put his hands in his pockets and walked toward the PD.

"I love that man." Sara said guiding Evangeline back inside.


	12. Obsession

Brass slowly pulled up to the rickety looking house on VanVorris Drive. There seemed to be a faint light on in one of the second floor rooms, but other than that, the house appeared vacant. Getting out of his car, Brass noticed a small pile of newspapers on the front stoop and the overflowing mailbox. Someone hadn't lived there in he'd guess, two weeks or so. He turned back to the street when he noticed headlights flash across the house's bay window. Sara and Evangeline had arrived in Sara's Prius. He gestured to them to stay in the car and he crept toward the front door with two uniformed officers at his back. He noticed the door was slightly ajar and the three men crept inside. Calling out a few times and getting no response, they made their way upstairs. After checking that the house was indeed empty, he returned to the car where the girls had been joined by Greg, Nick and Warrick.

"House is deserted. The uni's are clearing the place for you. Evangeline, you can't collect any evidence, but you can go in. Are you armed?" Brass asked her. She pulled up her jacket to reveal her sidearm and nodded. "Good. I'll be securing the perimeter."

"Greg and Sara, take the perimeter. Nick, take Evangeline and head inside." Brass gave his orders. Sara started to argue, but he held up a hand and stopped her.

"Sara, you don't need to go in there, trust me. Evangeline needs to see the inside of that house. You can go in when she's through. Trust me?" Sara nodded and began to walk toward the rear of the house with Greg.

Nick and Evangeline's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light inside the house. Nick pulled out his flashlight. It eerily lit up the interior of the entryway. He gestured to the left of the hallway and they entered the living room. There was a small TV set and a sofa and not much else. A threadbare area rug was placed in front of the fireplace. Nick looked around. "Not much here Evangeline. Let's check out the rest of the downstairs." The duo headed into the next room. It was a small den or office. Evangeline noticed a laptop.

"Nick, check this out. We should take this back with us." He nodded and they proceeded into the kitchen. There was a pervasive smell of rotting food permeating the air. A sandwich was left on the counter and it was covered with maggots. Evangeline smirked, "Gil would love these guys." She ran a gloved finger over the counter and plucked a maggot from its feast. She let it squirm in her palm for a minute and then set it down.

"So, you're a bug lover too?" Nick asked.

"Somewhat. I mean, Gil's the expert, but I love listening to him talk about insects. He has such a passion for them. Mom never understood how her children turned out the way we did. Gil has a PhD in biology and I have one in chemistry. An artist gave birth to two science geeks. She finds it amusing. I mean, Gil should have been a scientist because his father was a botanist. Mine was an art dealer. I should have been a painter or a sculptor. It's funny how things turn out." She smiled briefly and turned back to the counter. "We should keep looking. Something here has to tell us where my brother is."

"Guys? Are you in here?" Greg's voice rang out in the darkness.

"Yeah, in the kitchen!" Nick called back.

Sara, Greg and Brass appeared in the kitchen doorway. "You all need to go upstairs. The uni's found something you should see." Brass pointed to the staircase. "Second door on the right."

Slowly the group traversed the hallway and climbed the creaking staircase. Nick gingerly pushed open the door Brass had pointed out and he stepped inside followed closely by the group. Glancing at the walls Evangeline gasped. Every square inch of the room was covered with photographs of her and her family. She stepped over to a photo that had been taken right after Josie was born. She stammered, "Ohh….God…..he.. was..obsessed. I…uh…." She turned around in a circle and her breathing quickened.

"Here's one when I was in junior high, and this one," she ran to the corner of the room, "this one is my graduation. You see Gil and Mom?" She fell to her knees and struggled for breath. "He ….he….he….oh…God…"

"Nick, get her out of here!" Brass yelled. Nick ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her down the stairs as fast as he could without dropping her. He set her on the sidewalk outside as she struggled for her breath.

"Come on now darling. Breathe. In and out. Nice and slow. Come on now Evangeline, work with me." Nick chanted as he stroked her back in gentle circles. The rest of the group appeared next to them seconds later.

"Oh God….he….he….never…got…over….oh…I can't breathe." Evangeline gasped.

"This is Jim Brass. I need paramedics to 1009 VanVorris Drive. Officer down. I repeat, Officer in distress." Brass yelled into his radio.

Nick kept trying to calm Evangeline down as she struggled to get her emotions under control. She began to sob. "I…have….to calm….down…. Gil wouldn't like ….me…getting so upset…….he….he…." and then she passed out. Nick laid her gently down on the ground and cradled her head in his lap.

"Shit Brass. She's so stressed out right now. Has this girl slept or eaten since she got to Vegas?" Nick asked.

"Not that I know of." Greg replied. "It's been two days now. She's exhausted."

"Take care of her Nicky. Gil would be furious if we let anything happen to her. How's her breathing?" Sara asked.

"She's calming down. I think her body's had enough. Did you see that room? That guy's been stalking her for a while. Sick bastard!" Nick stroked Evangeline's hair as the sirens began to grow closer. "Sara, you need to call the lab. Bring Ava to the hospital."

Across the street hidden behind tinted car windows, Jason smiled.


	13. A Mother's Anguish

_Swallow. Swallow. Breathe through your nose. Swallow. Concentrate. I can do this. Concentrate. Swallow. Breathe out through your mouth. _

Grissom recited this mantra in his head over and over for what seemed like hours. He tried to force out the blood and bleach by pushing his tongue to the roof of his mouth and squishing the liquid out the corners of his mouth. He just had to remember to breathe through his nostrils.

_Swallow. Swallow. Breathe through your nose. Swallow. Concentrate. I can do this. Concentrate. Swallow. Breathe out through your mouth. _

After an eternity, the trap door above his head opened and two men climbed down into the hole. One of the men grasped the skewer and pulled it out of Grissom's lips. He groaned and gingerly opened his jaws relieving the cramping. The other man unlocked Grissom's wrists from the shackles but left his ankles secured. They forced Grissom into a sitting position and plunked a metal bucket down between his spread legs. Inside were a bottle of water and a bottle of cheap vodka.

"Dr. Grissom. Drink which ever one you want. Rinse your mouth and spit in the bucket. The boss doesn't want you dying of infection before his fun begins. We'll be back so be a good boy!" The door slammed shut and Grissom was returned to darkness. He gingerly lifted the bottle of vodka from the bucket and set it on the ground. He opened the bottle of water and took a long swig. He then took another and rinsed out his mouth. After spitting in the bucket he replaced the lid on the bottle and placed it on the ground next to the bucket. Shrugging his shoulders, he opened the bottle of vodka and took a mouthful. He ignored the burning as he swished it around and then spit it out. They were right, it would help kill germs. Besides, it was numbing the pain a bit. When his mouth was relatively clean, he set the bottle down and leaned back on his elbows. He wished that he had someway to tell how long he had been imprisoned. The window was beginning to show the faint light of dawn so he figured that it was about 4 am or so. He didn't know what day it was. He knew by now that the crew was searching for him and that they had met Evangeline. He figured Sara would be pissed that he hadn't told her about his family. Well, their relationship was fairly new and he was planning on a big holiday get together to introduce everyone. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. He sighed deeply and let his mind wander to Sara. He pictured sleeping in her embrace. He could almost feel her warm arms tracing the line of his spine as they made love. He allowed himself to smile.

He lay back on the floor and folded his arms across his chest and rested. He hoped Sara was safe.

Ava sat at her daughter's bedside in Desert Palms and stroked her arm. She sighed and clutched her rosary tightly in her left hand, silently reciting her prayers. One child missing, one lying in a hospital bed suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. The EMT's had determined that Evangeline had suffered a panic attack and her body shut down. She was now resting comfortably in the hospital with Ava, Nick and Brass by her side. Sara and Greg had stayed behind to process the house and Josie was staying at Catherine's with Lindsay and Hank.

Ava lifted her head and looked into the eyes of Jim Brass. He saw her tears and reached out to her. Wrapping an arm around the tiny woman's shoulders, he embraced her tightly and let her cry. He knew that she was also nearing her breaking point. She was too much like her son to admit her fatigue. He quietly asked Nick to go get some coffee. The younger man rose, gently patted Evangeline's shoulder, and left the room.

"Jimmy, my babies. Oh, my babies." Ava cried.

Brass turned her face toward him and looked into her eyes. "Ava, she'll be fine and we're getting closer to finding Gil. It will all be fine. Trust me?" She nodded her head. "Good. Now, we should look into getting you some rest. You need to keep your strength up."

"Jimmy. I am fine. My babies are not. I am not leaving her."

"Fine, I wouldn't ask you to. Let's go out into the waiting room. Nick's got fresh coffee. OK?" Brass gestured toward the door. Ava nodded. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and followed Brass outside.

Fifteen minutes later, the trio returned to Evangeline's room. Brass pushed open the door and stopped in his tracks. Ava screamed. Nick ran into the room. Inside was nothing but an empty bed. Ava ran to the bed and laid across it. "My baby! Where's my baby!" She sobbed. Nick ran to the nurse's station. Brass radioed for backup and swept the room with his eyes.

"Jim!" Nick returned gasping for breath. "She should be here. They hadn't scheduled any tests. They're checking all the corridors and rooms now. The hospital is on lockdown!"

"Shit! Shit!" Brass bent down and pointed to Evangeline's IV. It was bloody and half lying under the bed. "We have a big problem here!"


	14. Reunited

Grissom woke suddenly at the sound of the trap door above him being pulled open again. He silently shuddered, praying that another round of torture wasn't coming. He was still reeling from the injuries inflicted upon his mouth and tongue and was not feeling strong enough to fight off another round from those sadists. He watched as one man slowly lowered a ladder and descended into the dank cellar. The man had what appeared to be a body thrown over his right shoulder. Grissom watched the man carry the limp carcass over to a far corner and drop it on the dirt next to a wooden support pillar. Grissom heard the body hit the ground with a sickening thud. The man sat the person up against the pillar and Grissom' eyes widened in sheer horror. " Evangeline!" He thought. He knew that he could not currently make a sound with his tortured mouth but his mind screamed. He watched the man wrap her arms around the back of the pillar and tie them securely together. He them bound her ankles with a length of rope. Finally, he placed a piece of cloth in her mouth and tied it around the back of her head gagging her. The man ran a dirty finger down her cheek and left snickering.

Grissom stared at the limp and bound body of his sister and silently wept. He wondered why she was in a hospital gown and robe. Had she been hurt? Were their mother and Josie safe? Did the team have any clues on where to find them? He needed to get to Evangeline, but his ankles were still shackled to the floor. He scooted down toward the hooks on the floor until his knees were bent outward at an angle. He scratched around in the dirt and realized that he might be able to remove enough dirt to free himself. He dug for a while until his fingers were sore and nearly bleeding. Looking around, he remembered the two bottles that his captors had given him. He pulled the vodka bottle out of the bucket and began using it to claw at the hardened earth. It worked a little better than his hands. He seemed to be making a little more progress with this makeshift shovel. He paused long enough to remove his left shoe and sock and found that he could almost wiggle his foot free from the restraint. He was just starting to continue his work when he heard Evangeline stir and he saw her eyes flutter open. As she adjusted to the dim light she saw Grissom smiling at her. She did not return his encouraging smile. Instead, she began to thrash violently against her bonds. She struggled for breath as she tried to pull her arms free. Grissom could not speak to calm her and desperately tried to get her attention. Finally he pounded the vodka bottle on the metal bucket. She stopped and focused her teary eyes on him.

_Evangeline._ He signed. _You need to calm down honey. You're going to hurt yourself. _

She nodded and stopped struggling.

_Honey, are you hurt?_ He asked. She shook her head no.

_Good. Now, calm down for me OK?_

She nodded again.

_I'm trying to get free so I can get to you OK? Don't make a sound. They'll hear you. _

She nodded once more indicating that she understood.

_You know I love you don't you? I'll get us out of here. Trust me?_

She nodded and stopped crying. He knew that she was calm now and would stay with him.

_Lean your head back and rest for a bit. You'll need your strength to get out of here. _

She did as he asked and he continued to dig. After a long time, he looked over to see that Evangeline had fallen asleep. Her head lolled to one side. Sighing deeply, he pulled at his ankle. Straining and sweating, he managed to pull his foot free. Now, he thought, for the other one. Once or twice he paused in his efforts when he heard rustling above his head. Their captors had not made an appearance in quite some time and Grissom was hoping that the trend continued. Finally his other foot was freed. He gently made his way over to Evangeline and placed a hand on her shoulder. He gently shook her awake. Her blue eyes met his and she managed a weak smile. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. It wasn't long until he felt her warm tears soaking his shirt.

He leaned back and signed to her again.

_Don't cry. I'm fine_.

She shot him a look as he untied her gag. She licked her lips and whispered to him.

"Why aren't you talking?"

He opened his mouth and she gasped. "Did they do that to you?" she croaked.

He nodded.

"Gil, I'm so sorry. Can you swallow?"

He nodded and signed. _A little. The swelling is starting to go down a bit. I should be fine in a few days. _

He reached around the post and began to work on the knots that bound her arms.

"Gil, Sara is at the lab. She's helping in the search. She met mom. You have some explaining to do you know."

He stopped fiddling with the knots and raised an eyebrow at her. She smirked.

"You can act like a pompous ass in any situation can't you?"

He nodded again and returned to work on the rope. Once her arms were freed, and he had untied her ankles, she leapt into his arms and hugged him.

"I have so much to tell you." She whispered.

They froze when the trap door above them opened.


	15. Numbers on the Video

Brass rubbed his bloodshot eyes as he watched the surveillance video for the umpteenth time. He had lost count at 15 views. He sipped on his third cup of lukewarm coffee and sighed. Glancing over at the AV tech, he noticed that Archie was getting restless at constantly zooming and focusing the video trying to get a better view of the dark sedan that had parked in the staff parking lot of Desert Palms hospital. Sara, Catherine, Greg, Warrick and Nick were staring at the screen watching a male place an unconscious Evangeline into the trunk and slam the lid shut.

"Archie dammit. Can't you get the plate yet?" Brass snarled.

"Cool it Brass." Archie growled. "He removed the plate before he parked. There's nothing there for me to identify. I've told you that three times!" He smacked the desktop in front of him and Sara jumped slightly.

Brass whirled around to say something when Ava appeared at the door. "Jimmy, anything on my children yet?" She spoke softly while signing. Josephine stood beside her sucking her thumb. Sara looked at her and shook her head.

"Ava, there's no license plate on the car. But we know it was a man who took Evangeline. He was dressed as an orderly and must have had a staff parking pass." She reached down to Josephine who stretched out her arms. "Ant Swara?" She said.

Sara felt a tear puddle in her eye and she quickly brushed it away. Greg smirked.

"That's the first time she's called me that. I'm Aunt Sara!" Sara picked up the tiny child and smiled at her. Josie grabbed at a section of Sara's hair and twisted it in her tiny fist.

"Ant Swara. Mommy? Unka Gil?" Josie looked at her with confusion in her eyes.

"Baby, we're gonna find momma and Uncle Gil real soon OK?" Sara smiled.

Josie settled her head in the crook of Sara's neck and continued to suck her thumb.

"Aww….that's so cute!" Catherine gushed.

"Yeah Sara, you're a natural!" Nick exclaimed. Sara looked over to Ava who was smiling.

"Yeah, whatever. She's a good kid. Anyway, Archie. Please tell me that you have something, anything?" Sara questioned.

"Actually I do. I managed to zoom in on the Desert Palms parking permit on the rear view mirror. It might be stolen, but it's worth a shot." Archie smiled as he printed out the image.

"I'm on it!" Brass yelled, grabbing the printout and hustling out of the room. The others continued to look at the video, searching for anything. They managed to get a blurry shot of the man's face and Nick hurried down to the lab's computers with that printout to match it to any of the cases that Greg had matched earlier. There was finally some hope.

"Ava? Would you like to get a bite to eat while we wait on Nick and Brass?" Sara said to the elderly woman.

"Yes." She replied. "Can we stay in the lab? I want to be here if any news comes in?"

"Sure. Hey Rick?"

"What Sar?"

"Can you get us some lunch and meet us in the breakroom? I'll buy."

"Sure Sara. Be back in twenty." Rick left and Sara ushered the now sleeping Josie and Ava into the breakroom.

Twenty minutes later, they were joined by Catherine and Warrick and the group began to eat their first real meal in over 48 hours.

"So Ava," Catherine began, " How are you holding up? Have you been able to rest?"

"Josie and I slept in the hospital waiting room with Evangeline, but other than that, no. I haven't really rested much. I keep seeing horrible things when I close my eyes. I don't want to bury my children. I should go first. I have been ready to go first. But now, I can't handle it very well. Josie needs her mother. I am too old to raise her. If anything happened….I…." She began to cry and Sara reached for her. She held Ava while she wept. After a few minutes, Ava composed herself and looked at the group.

"You know, after I had Gil I thought that I would only have one child. He was my light. My brilliant baby boy. When his father died, I was lonely. A deaf widow with a nine year old. I thought that my life was over and I was trapped. Then, I met Dean Thomlinson. He was dashing and an amazing painter. We began to see each other seriously when Gil was sixteen. He wasn't happy of course. He had spent seven years being the center of my world and now he felt like another man had moved in to replace his father. It wasn't long before Dean proposed to me. I was so blissfully happy. I mean, he wanted to marry me! A deaf single mother with no career. We started to plan the wedding when I discovered that I was pregnant. Well, Dean was furious. He never wanted children. He said that he was too old and didn't have time for children. He wanted to marry me because he thought that Gil was old enough to take care of himself. Well, Dean left, and broke off the engagement. My lovely daughter was born a week before Gil's 20th birthday. He was angry at me at first, but as soon as he saw his baby sister, he was smitten with her. She's like him in so many ways, smart, precocious, selfless, dedicated. But Evangeline, well, she's more of a people person than my son is. You all understand that. Evangeline idolizes her brother. He's her role model. She chose her career to be like him. He's more like a father figure to her. He moved into that role easily. I hope that he gets a chance to be a father himself one day. I just hope that they are together right now. Gil will take care of Evangeline and she would die for him if need be. My children are incredibly loving. I just want nothing more than to hug them each once more and tell them that I love them very much. I want to kiss my son's cheek and ruffle his hair. I want to see Evangeline marry and find her own happiness. I just, I want this to all be over." Ava placed her hands in her lap and looked at Sara, who along with Warrick and Catherine, was crying softly at her words.

"Oh dear. I didn't mean to make you cry. I can see that you love my son more than anything don't you?"

Sara just nodded.

"We will see them again Ava." Catherine sniffed. "We will do everything in our power to bring them home." She silently gripped Warrick's hand under the table.

Brass burst into the breakroom "We've got a hit on the permit. Justin Simpson. He was Jason Williamson's college roommate and currently works at Desert Palms. The dumbass used his own parking permit. I've got an address. He lives about 20 miles from here. I've called in SWAT. Let's roll!"


	16. God Help Us

Grissom and Evangeline froze as the door opened above their heads. Both braced themselves for whatever was coming. They watched silently as the ladder was lowered into the darkness and a man began to descend into the cellar. The man scanned the cellar with a faint flashlight and stopped the beam on the two Grissom siblings huddled together in a far corner.

"Now, now, Evangeline. How nice of you to join our little party. I've missed you my dear." The man spoke.

Evangeline's eyes grew wide. "Screw you Jason. Now let us out of here!"

"So you remember me do you? You little conniving bitch." Jason snarled as he strode toward the Grissoms. Gil's arms were wrapped protectively around his little sister and the anger was furrowed on his brow. Jason stopped in front of the duo and stared down at them. Reaching into his waistband, he slowly pulled out a .22 revolver and pressed the muzzle to Gil's head.

"Now, you little slut! Get up! Or you'll be wearing your brother's brains as foundation. Move!" Jason screamed and released the safely. Evangeline untangled herself from her brother's strong arms and gave him a final kiss on the cheek before Jason grabbed her upper arm and jerked her to her feet. He tossed her on the dirt floor of the basement and kicked her soundly in the ribcage. As she screamed, Gil started to get up but Jason turned the gun on him again. "Move again Grissom and your mother will bury two children!" Jason turned back to Evangeline and started kicked her again. His heavy boot made contact with her ribs, chest, and head. She threw up her arms in a veiled attempt to save herself, but Jason's final kick to the side of her face rendered her unconscious. She lay motionless and bleeding on the cold floor as Jason screamed, "You fucking slut! I went to jail because of you. Three long years of being raped by my cellmate! I suffered for you! I loved you! Why didn't you love me? You whore! You betrayed me! You took my child from me! I'm going to watch you die slowly!" Jason stepped away from her broken body and wiped the sweat from his brow. Grissom sat silently, the tears burning trails down his cheeks. Jason turned to him and smiled.

"Now, Dr. Grissom. Shall we continue this upstairs? I have the scene all set for us. All we need is my daughter and your meddling mother, but I guess we can make this work without them. Get up!" He gestured toward the ladder and Grissom stood up.

"Pick her up!" Jason gestured to Evangeline.

Grissom stooped down and gently scooped Evangeline up in his arms. He shifted her until she was hanging over his left shoulder so that he could climb the ladder. Jason followed behind him with the revolver pointed at Evangeline's head. As the trio reached the top of the ladder, Grissom laid his sister down on the carpeted floor and blinked in the light. He climbed out of the hole and slowly took in his surroundings. Jason and his two accomplices had transformed the room into a makeshift wedding chapel. There were flowers and lace bunting on the walls. There were tables covered with yellow roses and in the corner hung a tuxedo and a wedding dress. He felt the bile rising in his burning throat as he realized what Jason's plan was. His eyes widened in horror.

"Yes, Dr. Grissom. I will make you sister my bride. I then, after I consummate our wedding, I will torture her and then watch her die. She will be buried with MY name on her headstone. The world will know that SHE IS my wife! She will be MINE forever!" Jason laughed as he looked down at the still unconscious Evangeline. He knelt down and stroked her bloody cheek. "Even so damaged, you are so beautiful. Mine, mine, mine, you are my beauty, my lover, I will make you remember me, later tonight, you'll be screaming my name just like you used to. Do you remember that? How I made you scream when I made you come? You used to rake your nails down my back and I'd lick the sweat from between your breasts. Then, we'd sleep and do it again. And again. You're insatiable. My pretty little whore." He put his blood covered fingers in his mouth and sucked on them. Grissom felt his stomach turn again as he watched this monster paw his sister.

"Gentlemen. Make sure Dr. Grissom doesn't disturb us will you?" Jason sneered. "I need a little taste before the ceremony." He started to unbuckle his pants. Grissom tried to scream as the two other men dragged him to a wooden kitchen chair and tied his arms and legs to it. Grissom watched in horror as Jason rolled the unconscious Evangeline onto her back and raised her hospital gown. He ripped off her underwear and threw them across the room. Jason smiled as he ran his hands up her thighs and paused at her junction. He grimaced as he pulled himself up so that his cock was on the edge of her sex. "Ahh….this is how much I live you my soon to be wife. You're MINE!" HE screamed as he thrust wildly into her. The tears poured from Gil's eyes as he watched this monster violate her. Her head rolled from side to side with the force of Jason's thrusts. Finally, he came with a shudder and rolled off of Evangeline onto the floor. Gil could see the blood on her thighs and he wept silently. Gil struggled at his bonds but one of the men pressed a knife to his throat and he stilled. Jason wiped the sweat from his brow and stood up redressing himself. He pulled Evangeline's gown back down and walked over to Gil. He smacked Gil in the face.

"Did you like that show Dr. Grissom? Did you? Your sister's a good fuck." Jason turned to the two men and nodded. They walked to Evangeline and lifted her by her arms until she was standing between them. They took her out the door into an adjoining room. Jason walked over to the bridal garments that had been hanging in the corner and removed them from their hangars. He followed the men into the room humming the wedding march. Gil wept again.


	17. Down the Aisle

Brass radioed to the other cars to pull up silently and with lights off in case this was the correct location. Ava, Sara and Josie were in his car and he felt the enormous responsibility of looking out for them. They were, after all, three civilians in his care right now. The two women had refused to stay at the lab this time. They wanted to be there if Gil and Evangeline were going to come home safely this time.

As they pulled up to the block where the house was located, Jim could see Warrick and Nick already knelt behind their Denali about three houses down. Greg and Catherine were still sitting in their SUV across the street waiting. Four unmarked patrol cars had parked in various places on the block and two were in the alley behind the house. Jim could see lights on inside the house as he pulled up. He shut off the car's engine and turned to Ava and Sara. "No matter what's in there, you stay here! Understand?" The women nodded and he left the vehicle. Jim and three patrol men stood silently on the porch. Jim crept toward the porch's only window which had the shades drawn. He peered in through a crack and was shocked at what he saw.

In the far corner of the room was Gil, tied up in a wooden chair, alone. Jim was ready to signal the men to break the door down when he saw two men enter the room dressed in suits. Behind them came a man dressed in a tuxedo and a woman in a bridal gown. The woman appeared to be unconscious and bleeding. Jim could see blood smears on the front and bodice of her gown. He observed Gil struggling against his bonds and knew that the woman had to be Evangeline and the so called groom was probably Jason. Jim silently ordered the men off the porch and crept to where the CSI shift was huddled behind Nick's SUV.

"They're in there. Gil looks OK, he tied to a chair. It looks like Evangeline's unconscious and that this Jason creep is performing some kind of twisted wedding ceremony. They're alarmed. Jason has a revolver pressed to Evangeline's head and another guy has a knife to Gil's throat. This is gonna be a tricky one." Jim sighed.

"What should we do?" Greg whispered.

"We need to surprise them and get in there." Nick nodded.

Suddenly a woman's scream was heard. "No, get off me!" It came from inside the house. Sara bolted from the car and ran over to the other CSI's.

"Shit! That was Evangeline Jim. Get in there!" Sara screamed.


	18. The Blood Sacrifice

As she slowly regained consciousness, Evangeline had focused her eyes on the man seated before her. She realized that Gil was watching her intently, strapped to a wooden chair. She was aware of an intense burning between her legs and she remembered that pain. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that Jason had violated her while she was unconscious and she struggled against his grasp.

"No, get off me!" she screamed and jerked violently against his clutch. The two men in suits started towards her when Jason shouted, "NO! This bitch will be mine. Take care of him!"

He pointed to Gil who was straining at the ropes binding him to his chair. Gil could not scream, he could only whimper and groan at his sister's distress, but he fought against the ropes until one hand broke free. The two men were focused on Jason and Evangeline and didn't look at Gil who was now freeing his other hand. Suddenly Jason saw him attempting to free himself.

"You assholes! He's getting loose. I said to take care of him!" One of the men grabbed Gil's freed arm and held it above his head as the other man started punching Gil in the stomach and ribs. He grunted and gasped as they continued their brutal assault.

Evangeline saw what was happening and screamed again. Jason slapped her across the face and she fell to the floor. He leapt on top of her and pinned her to the carpet. Evangeline squirmed and clawed at his face. She made contact on her third attempt. Jason cried out and felt his now bleeding cheek.

"You slut!" He slapped her again. Evangeline looked at him through her sobs and her heart stopped as she watched him pull a switchblade knife out of his waistband. He flicked it open and she put her hands over her face in an attempt to save herself.

"You whore!" Jason screamed as he slashed at her. Flashes of silver mixed with crimson. The knife cut deeply into her left forearm and she cried out. "Oh GOD!"

Jason slashed at her over and over until her forearms and wrists were pouring blood. Evangeline continued to fight however and she lifted her right knee and contacted Jason's groin. "Oh fuck!" He fell to the side of her gasping for breath and she pulled her bloody body toward the door. She stretched her arm up toward the doorknob when Jason grabbed her right ankle with his left hand. His right hand swung upwards and the gruesome blade made contact with the back of her right thigh. She screamed again and he plunged the knife into her skin and pulled back toward him. Gil saw a stream of crimson as the blade carved a gash into her leg. Evangeline thrashed and cried. "Oh God, he's gonna kill me! HELP!"

Suddenly the front door burst open. "LVPD everybody freeze!" Brass peered around the doorframe and saw Jason on his knees hovering above Evangeline. She was covered in blood and laying prone on the floor, one hand stretched out toward the door.

"Back away from her and drop the knife!" Brass yelled.

"Fuck you!" Jason spat and stretched his arm holding the knife above his head again ready to strike. "This bitch is MINE!"

As Brass removed the safety from his department revolver, Jason grabbed Evangeline by the hair on the back of her head and jerked her upwards brutally until her back was pressed up against his chest. He pressed the bloody blade to her throat and jerked her hair so hard that he actually pulled a handful out. Evangeline was barely conscious and Brass could see her gasping for breath. Every intake of air pushed the blade further into her skin and she winced.

"Jason, let her go and this will end peacefully. Come on now buddy, you don't wanna die here do you?" Brass ignored the sweat that dropped into his eye and stayed focused on Jason. He saw the blood beginning to pool around Evangeline's white gown and knew that they were running out of time.

"Where's your friends? Huh? They should all see this bitch die. Is her fucking mother here? I want her in here!" Jason screamed and pulled the blade across Evangeline's throat until a tiny trickle of blood oozed.

"OK, I'll bring them all in. No funny business?" Brass backed slowly out of the room.

"Sara!" He yelled. "Jason wants to see Ava and the team. You all need to come in here, slowly." He caught her eye and she understood and nodded. One by one, the graveyard shift slowly entered the dimly lit room and huddled against the far wall. Sara entered last holding Ava's arm tightly. Ava gasped and stared at her battered daughter first and then her eyes darted to Gil who was being held in place by two large men. One man had a revolver pressed to his temple.

"Now, you all can watch this bitch die!" He pressed the blade into Evangeline's skin and she cried out. She raised her arms to her neck and grabbed at his arm. Ava cried out when she saw the blood drenching her daughter's forearms from her previous attack. Brass stood firm, his gun aimed at Jason's skull. He thought that he could probably take him out with one shot, but Evangeline needed to keep still so that he didn't hit her.

"Jason, let her go man. Is she really worth it?" Brass said snidely.

"Oh yeah!" Jason snarled. "She's worth every minute that I sit here with your fucking gun pointed at my head. She is MINE! She was always mine. Now, you all are going to watch her bleed to death in My arms! Where she should be. Then, I'll kill her fucking brother too." He turned to Evangeline and licked her cheek and then pressed the knife into her skin. Brass saw the blood begin to run and he said a silent prayer.

POP! POP!

Jason fell backwards onto the carpet and shuddered twice. Then, he fell silent. The two men next to Gil immediately dropped their weapons and held their hands above their heads. The officers ran to them and pressed them to wall to search them. Brass ran over to Jason's body and checked for a pulse.

"He's dead." He turned to Evangeline who was lying on the floor staring at him. She reached a weakened hand toward Jim and he knelt down beside her.

"It's gonna be Ok honey. You're gonna be fine." He yelled out the door. "I need paramedics in here now!"

Evangeline turned her head toward Jim, "Gil?"

"He's gonna be fine." "Guys, get Gil!" Greg and Nick bolted across the room and headed to Grissom.

"I need the medics now, she's bleeding out!" Jim screamed again. Suddenly, Sara, Warrick, Ava and Catherine appeared next to Evangeline and started ripping articles of clothing off to use as bandages. Ava held a jacket around her left arm and Warrick pressed his shirt tightly to the cuts on her right. Catherine applied pressure to her thigh. Jim was doing his best to keep her awake and alert.

"Mom?" Evangeline croaked. "Mom?"

"She's here honey. You stay with me now ok?" Jim shouted. She slowly nodded her head and coughed weakly.

Nick and Greg worked to untie Grissom's bonds and helped him stand. Gil struggled to get his footing when he heard a familiar voice. "Gil! Baby?" Sara ran toward him with tears flowing down her cheeks. He held out an arm to her and she flew into his embrace. "I thought I'd lost you baby." She started to kiss him and he pushed her away.

"What? Oh Jesus! What did they do to you baby?" She gently caressed his swollen lips and cried harder. Gil looked toward his sister bleeding on the floor.

Sara understood him and pulled Gil over to Evangeline. He sat on the floor next to her head and stroked her cheek. Ava looked at her bruised son through her tears and managed a small smile for him. She reached her hand to his face and caressed his cheek. He kissed the palm of her hand. They both then turned their attention to Evangeline who was starting to shiver. Ava rubbed her daughter's battered hand. Evangeline opened her eyes and looked at her mother.

"Mom. I love you." She coughed again. "Mom, I'm so cold. Keep Josie safe for me. Give her to Gil and Sara. They'll love her. I…I…." Her eyes closed and she grew still.

"Shit! She stopped breathing. Everybody back off. Nick, help me!" Jim started rescue breathing and Nick did CPR.

Ava sobbed and reached for her daughter, but Gil held her tightly and wept with her. Sara and Catherine sat in stunned silence.

Nick and Jim continued CPR until the paramedics arrived and whisked her off into a waiting ambulance. A second one arrived for Gil and he and Sara climbed inside. Ava returned to Jim's car and retrieved Josie who was now sleeping on the lap of a patrolman who had volunteered to watch her during the chaos. Ava picked her up and clutched her to her chest. She continued to sob until she felt Jim's hand on her shoulder.

"Ava, let's go to the hospital. Let's take Josie to her mother." Jim brushed back a tear as he placed the two in his car and sped off with lights and sirens blaring.


	19. Hope Isn't Far Away

BAM! The gurney burst through the ER doors with a clatter. The paramedic perched on his knees on either side of Evangeline's chest was sweating profusely from doing chest compressions. The drops glistened on his furrowed brow as his muscles tried desperately to keep her in this plane of existence.

"Massive blood loss. She's been down too long….I need a crash cart….We need two units of o neg in here….page the surgeon….any family?.....need next of kin….shit! She's not responding. Got another one coming in…massive facial trauma….both cops?....what the hell happened to his mouth?.....holy shit! Get a line in him too. Page the plastic surgery department…..are they related?......crap."

The flurry of voices in the ER room floated past Sara's ears like ethereal angels whispering in the wind. She managed to catch pieces of conversations while she tried to stay next to Gil as he was treated. Finally, a burly nurse threw her out into the waiting room. That's where Jim and Ava found her minutes later.

"Sara?" Jim approached her and placed his hand on her left elbow. "Any news?"

Sara sniffed back a tear and looked into Ava's eyes, "Evangeline's heart stopped in the ambulance and they are trying to revive her. They paged for a physician to see Gil. He's in the ER. Evangeline's headed to surgery."

Ava swayed slightly, but Brass caught her arm. He quickly handed Josie off to Sara who clutched the little girl tightly to her chest and stroked her hair. Brass helped Ava to a chair and sat next to her holding her hand. Sara kissed Josie on the top of her head and sat her in a chair next to Ava. They all sat in silence.

Sara concentrated on the tick of the clock as the minutes and hours dragged on. Ava finally rested her head on Jim's shoulder and managed to doze. He was grateful that she was finally resting. Josie sat on the floor coloring in a book that one of the nurses had brought in to her. About an hour after the two Grissom's had been brought into the hospital, the rest of the graveyard team had arrived. Catherine and Warrick had brought fresh coffee and bagels from Gil's favorite deli. Sara had managed to eat half of one before her stomach tightened and rebelled. Greg and Nick brought a few toys for Josie.

"Did you guys stop at Toys R Us on the way?" Jim snickered.

"Yeah, actually. Why?" Nick started at him incredulously.

Finally, Sara could take no more and she stomped out of the waiting room in search of answers. As she started down the hallway, a doctor grabbed her elbow.

"Miss Sidle?" He asked.

"Yes." Sara huffed.

"I'm Dr. Rosenthoul, Gil's ER physician. Can we talk somewhere please?"

"Sure. How about the waiting room. His mother is in there too."

"Fine."

They entered the room and the doctor began to speak.

"I am Gil's ER physician. We treated him for dehydration and malnutrition firstly. His blood pressure was a bit high, but we got it under control. He has no internal injuries except for some bruising on the muscles in his chest and abdomen. He'll probably have some trouble breathing for a while due to soreness. His left wrist was slightly sprained, but he could move it fine in the ER when I examined him. The majority of his injuries were facial. He has a broken left cheekbone and a deep laceration on his right temple that required twenty stitches. He also had a slight concussion. My biggest concern in the trauma inflicted upon his mouth and tongue. He managed to write down what happened to him. Apparently, someone used a wire brush and bleach to scour his tongue and then pierced his lips with a sharp metal rod."

Sara shivered and Ava looked as if she was going to faint.

"However," the doctor continued, "These injuries should heal nicely in time with the help of antibiotics and some gentle daily cleansing. The holes in his lips should heal also. If he wants, we can do some reconstructive surgery to disguise the scars, but they should be minimal. Until everything heals, no talking or eating. So for right now, he has a feeding tube to provide him with nutrition. He'll probably be here at least a week or so. We sedated him so that he could rest and he'll be moved into room 216 in about thirty minutes or so. Any questions?"

"Yes, what about Evangeline? The girl that was brought in here with him. She's his sister." Jim spoke up.

"She's still in surgery. I'll find out and get back to you as soon as possible." Dr. Rosenthoul left the room.

Sara let out the breath that she had been holding. "He's gonna be ok guys. He'll be OK." She finally sat down in the orange plastic chair and put her head in her hands. To her left, she heard gentle sobbing and titled her head toward the noise. Jim was holding Ava in his arms and rubbing her back in the same way that you would soothe a child.

"My baby. Oh God. Why did this happen to my babies?" She wailed. Jim just held on to her for deal life. Sara just sat there, too exhausted to help, and too drained to speak.

Thirty minutes later Sara and Ava were escorted to Gil's room. Sara swallowed and they eased open the door. Gil lay inside still sleeping. The two women quietly approached the bed. Sara stood on his right side and Ava on his left. Sara reached down and gingerly brushed his hair from his forehead and then bent down and kissed the spot she had just touched. Ava stood simply holding Gil's hand along with her rosary. Sara noticed that her lips were moving in a silent mother's prayer. Sara ran a timid fingertip across Gil's lips and smiled. He would be fine. After all they had been through, he would be fine.

Ava finished her prayer and sat down in a cold plastic chair next to his bed. She let her head droop forward until her forehead rested on the bed. She had Gil's hand clasped firmly to her cheek. There she lay for some time until Brass tapped her on the shoulder. Ava opened her eyes and noticed that Sara was sleeping in the chair on the other side of the room. She looked up at Brass and stood to follow him into the hallway. She noticed that the entire graveyard shift was standing in the hallway looking nervous and scared.

"Ava, Evangeline's out of surgery. It's not good Ava. I'll take you to her so the rest of the guys here can see Gil. OK?" Brass said.

Ava swallowed back a tear and nodded. She paused briefly to address the crowd of her son's colleagues, no, friends.

"Gil's sleeping and so is Sara. I want to thank you all for all of the hard work you did to find my children. I know that I speak for Sara and Josie too when I say thank you for returning my family to me. Now, please pray for my baby girl." She wiped her eyes and followed Brass into the elevator. What she would find there, she didn't know.


	20. Recovery

A solemn Ava followed Brass into the elevator. She clutched his arms so tightly that he feared that his fingers might turn blue. He could feel her trembling and placed his hand on hers. It was icy cold. Brass swallowed back a sob, knowing that if Ava saw him weeping, she would start again. He wasn't sure how much more this fragile woman could take. The doctors were unsure of how Evangeline would survive her injuries and they had told him privately to prepare for the worst. He was grateful that the doctors had given him the information in the first place. A flip of the badge could get you anything in this town. He looked up and watched the numbers light up one by one until they stopped on the surgical floor. Brass pulled slightly and Ava followed him into the hallway. She shuffled zombie-like next to him until they came to the nurse's station. Brass drew in a deep breath and began to speak.

"Excuse me. I'm Detective Jim Brass, LVPD. We're looking for information on Evangeline Grissom. We were told that she was in surgery. This is her mother."

"Yes, just a minute." The red haired nurse peered down at her computer screen. After a few clicks, she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Ok. She has just been taken into recovery. I'll page her doctor for you. Have a seat over there please."

They exhausted duo slunk into the plastic chairs and began another lonely wait. Brass was grateful that Gil had survived pretty much intact and was now under Sara's loving care. That's all the medicine the man really needed anyway. Sara would guard him like a bulldog until he was recovered. Brass snickered inwardly at the thought of Sara baring her teeth at intruders while Gil was sleeping. He shifted his gaze to Ava and she met his eyes. He could see the sheer exhaustion in her features and he wanted nothing more than to make the last few days disappear so she could have her children safe again. Knowing how his heart ached thinking about Ellie, he imagined what Ava was feeling. A parent can't stand seeing their child in pain, no matter what their age may be. He was sure Ava was being torn in two right now. Her boy was downstairs sleeping but her daughter was up here still in critical condition. He patted the back of her hand and pulled her head onto his shoulder. She leaned into him and he could feel her drift slowly off to sleep. He sat there holding a silent vigil watching for the doctors to arrive.

"Hey Brass. Brass?" He opened his eyes to see Greg, Nick and Warrick standing in front of him.

"Man, you were really snoring there." Greg snickered.

"Shut it Sanders." Brass growled.

Brass stretched his back and sat up a little straighter. He noticed that Ava had also woken and was rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Brass and whispered, "Any news?"

He shook his head and looked at Greg. Greg looked at Nick who shrugged his shoulders. Brass grumbled under his breath and then slowly rose to his feet.

"I'm going to find out what the hell is going on in this place. They said that they were taking her to recovery and that was, shit, almost two hours ago." He shrugged out of his suit jacket and headed towards the nurses station. He paused briefly in front of the desk before rapping on the counter with his fist. The red haired nurse jumped and then glowered at him.

"Yes?" She snarled.

"I have been waiting patiently for news on Evangeline Grissom and you people have been dicking me around for two hours. Now, I want to see her doctor immediately! Don't make me arrest you lady!" He snarled at her and she shrunk back into her cubicle.

"One minute please."

"Ok, sir, she is out of recovery and will be moved into a room soon."

"Not good enough." Brass pointed at the screen. "I know just where to move her."

Five floors below, Sara had awoken from her slumber and was now attempting to wash some of the grime from Gil's forehead. The hospital paper towels were definitely not Brawny and they kept tearing. She forged on.

"Oh Sweetie, they did a horrible job cleaning you up. You'd be horrified to see your face right now." She stroked his bruised forehead and reached over onto the table for another paper towel. She continued talking as she worked.

"Brass took your mom up to wait for Evangeline to get out of surgery. They said she was serious Gil. I won't lie to you." She sighed deeply and looked down at his face. She reached down and grasped his hand in hers. She stroked the tips of his fingers with her own while she gazed at his face. There were purple bruises forming on his weathered face. The black circles under his eyes indicated his lack of sleep. She was sure that he had lost some weight during his imprisonment. His cheeks seemed to be less full than she remembered them. She suddenly regretted leaving him all those months ago.

"I wish they would tell us something soon. I know that you are probably expecting the worst. I know you Gil." She whispered. She felt his hand twitch and she saw his eyelids flutter open.

"Don't talk baby. You need to rest your tongue. The doctors put in a feeding tube too honey. I know it's uncomfortable, but it's necessary OK?" Sara whispered.

Gil nodded groggily and stared into her eyes. He lifted his right hand and finger spelled "Evangeline".

"Gil honey, Brass took your mom upstairs to see her. We need to be patient. Do you want me to tell the guys that you're awake now?"

Gil nodded softly and Sara rose from her seat. She started toward the door when it suddenly swung open. Brass was standing in the doorway holding it open as some orderlies wheeled in another bed.

"I thought you might want some company Gil." He smiled. Gil turned his head to see them wheeling Evangeline into his room. The doctor turned to the crowd that had now gathered in the room and spoke, "Miss Grissom is currently on a ventilator because she stopped breathing. Luckily, her heart continued beating. We managed to correct the stab wound to her right thigh, but she will need physical therapy and will probably walk with a slight limp. My biggest concerns are her arms. The knife wounds were severe. Some of the cuts went bone deep. She has some tendon and nerve damage and it will be a long time until she can grasp anything. She has a very long road ahead of her, but I predict that she will recover. She will need a lot of help and support." He quickly left the room.

Brass guided Ava to her daughter's bedside. She tenderly took one Evangeline's hands in her own. She then reached over and took Gil's hand. Clasping both of her children's hands in her own, she lets the tears flow. Only then, did the CSI Graveyard team let out the breath they felt like they had been holding for five longs days. The recovery could begin.


	21. Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

_**AN Ok this is a little angsty and a little bit romantic too. I will continue to play with the characters as I see fit. I was disappointed not to find either Eric or George under my tree gift wrapped. But, there's always next year!!  
**_

**One Month Later**

"Gil baby? Can you get the door?" Sara yelled from the master bedroom. "I'm trying to finish getting dressed in here so we can go!"

"Sure! I'm going!" Grissom yelled back at her. He walked into the kitchen tying his tie as he went. "Alright, alright." He spoke to the incessant knocking on their front door. "Ouch, shit!" He groaned as he stepped on one of Josie's stray Lego's. He reached the door and yanked it open with his free hand.

"Finally. Geeze. You ask us to come over and then you ignore us while we stand outside and freeze our asses off. Some friend you are." Jim Brass pushed past Grissom into the kitchen with Nick at his heels.

"Jim. It's 80 degrees outside. You're not going to catch frostbite." Grissom sighed. "We'll be out of here in a few minutes. Sara's in the bedroom doing her hair, or something like that. Josie's in the living room and Evangeline's sleeping in her room. There's a pan of lasagna in the oven, just turn it to 375 for 45 minutes and you can make a salad. There's stuff in the fridge. Jim, I put Bud Light in the fridge for you. Nick, you're babysitting, so you get iced tea." He headed off toward the bedroom leaving the two men in the kitchen.

Nick walked into the living room and stomped on the floor to get Josie's attention. She looked up from her Lego's and smiled at him. He knelt down next to her and spoke, "Hey Josie girl! Whatcha doing?"

"Blocks! Unka Nik. Wanna play?" Josie held up a large red building block and Nick took it from her chubby hand. He sat on the floor next to her and they began to build a tower on the coffee table. Jim took a beer from the refrigerator and snickered.

"Nicky my boy. Looks like you finally have a career to fall back on if you leave CSI. Supreme Lego Architect. You can design high rises for leprechauns." He slumped down in the sofa and missed Nick's death stare when he closed his eyes and leaned back.

"Don't get too comfortable. You have work to do you know." Sara emerged from the bedroom in a knee length blue dress and matching heels.

"Whooo….holy shit Sara. You look, um…..well…..wow!" Nick stammered.

"Looking good Cookie. You can clean up nice when you want to." Jim raised his beer to her and she smiled.

"Thanks guys. We really appreciate this. Gris and I need a night out in the worst way. This is the first night we have had together since, well, since Jason. I just want to enjoy a quiet dinner with the man I love. He will be leaving his cell phone here, just so you know. I will have mine in case of an emergency. OK?" Sara patted the side of her handbag and readjusted her earring.

"Sara, when's Ava coming back?" Nick looked up from the floor.

"She'll be back next week. She wanted to personally oversee the sale of her gallery. It's a big step for her, but she wouldn't let us help her. When it's settled, she's hiring a company to pack up the house and move everything back here to Vegas. She bought a condo about two blocks over."

"What about Evangeline?" Brass asked.

"Well," Sara began. "She's staying here indefinitely. She can use her index finger and thumb on her right hand and no fingers on her left. I have to help her get dressed. She can't even hold a fork or her toothbrush. Physical therapy is agonizing for her. In fact, she has a session this morning and it wiped her out. She took a pain pill and went to bed about three hours ago. The doctors are hopeful, but, she may never work again. Don't tell Gil, but the doctor put her on antidepressants last week. She just sits around and watches TV or stares at Josie. I catch her crying a lot. She was upset that we called you guys to come over. She can't take care of her own child anymore without help. The worst part is, she can't sign to Ava or Josie so communication goes much slower now. She gets so frustrated that she'll stomp off to her room and just lay there. I don't know what else to do guys. She's lost a lot of weight because she refuses to use the utensils the doctor gave us. They fasten to her braces. She tries to hold everything with one finger and a thumb. I will warn you that she will either put on a brave face, or ignore you completely. Please don't take offense." Sara sat down on the sofa next to Jim and he took her hand.

"It's ok Sar. We'll do our best to take care of both these girls. I'll get her to eat. What time should I wake her up?" Nick asked.

"About an hour or so. You may have to shake her because those pills really knock her out."

"One minute Sara and we can go!" Grissom called from the hallway. The three CSI's watched him gingerly open a door in the hallway and step inside.

"He's got to give her a goodbye kiss." Sara whispered.

A minute later Grissom returned to the darkened doorway and continued into the living room. He was dressed in a charcoal grey suit with a blue dress shirt and coordinating tie.

"Ok dear. We can go now. We'll be back around midnight and don't forget that Josie's bedtime is 8:30 after her bath." And with that, he swept Sara out the front door and closed it with a click.

"Well Nicky. I'll put dinner in the oven if you'll take the dog for a walk." Brass got off the sofa and Nick whistled for Hank who came bounding in from the den dribbling drool as he went. He hooked Hank to his leash and they headed out for a quick jaunt around the block.

Josie followed Jim into the kitchen and watched him for a minute. She walked over to him and tugged on his pants leg. Brass looked down at her and smiled. "What do you need punkin?"

"Momma don't feel good." She said, frowning.

"I know. We're going to help her feel better. Do you want to help too?"

She nodded her head. "How?"

"Well, we need to get her up so she can eat dinner."

"Ok." She reached up at Jim and her took her tiny hand in his. Together they walked down the hallway and softly pushed open the door to Evangeline's room. Brass could see her sleeping soundly in the dim light. Evangeline was wrapped up in a comforter. One arm hung over the edge of the bed and Bras could see her metal and leather brace shimmering in the light. She was snoring softly and he was hesitant to wake her until Josie slipped from his grasp and tapped her mother's cheek. Evangeline opened her eyes and smiled. She stretched her arm to Josie and used the palm of her hand to stroke the child's hair.

"Hey baby. Is it time to get up?" She croaked. Seeing Jim in the doorway, she started to wriggle out of the covers. She grasped the comforter with her two working fingers and pulled it back so she could get out of the bed. Jim snickered silently at her Snoopy pajamas and then helped her the rest of the way up. She followed him and Josie into the kitchen and sat down on a barstool.

"Coffee?" Jim asked and she nodded. He started to pour a cup and she stopped him.

"I can't hold a full cup, I have to drink it in little increments Jim. A little less than a third of a cup will be fine. One scoop of sugar." She yawned. He placed the cup on the island in front of her and he watched as she used her left hand to guide the cup into her right's grip. She used the two working fingers to grip the handle of the cup and raised it a little off the counter. She then slid her left hand under the cup palm side up and brought the cup up to her lips and took a long sip.

"It's a little unorthodox I know, but it works. Now, if I could just hook my bra by myself I'd be set." She laughed softly and Jim smiled.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Not really, but I suppose Sara told you to make me eat something didn't she?"

"Yep."

"Fine."

"I won't force feed you if that's what you're worried about."

" I know you won't"

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"No, I'm not Jim. My life is over."

"No it's not. You have options."

"Sure. Whatever."

Neither one of them noticed that Nick had returned from walking Hank and was standing in the entryway.

"Evangeline, you can still have a good life."

"Sure. Who would want me now? I can't even brush my own teeth Jim. I'm so damaged."

"You'll find someway to move on. You're a Grissom and they're pretty damn tough you know."

"Humph. I just want to be useful again. I can't even take care of my own child anymore. I can't talk to my mother. I can't work and the medical bills are piling up. I'm intruding on Gil and Sara. It's not worth it anymore."

"You wouldn't do anything drastic would you?"

"How? I could maybe stick my head in the oven, but knowing Gil, he's got some kind of monitor around here and the fire department would rescue me. I guess I could jump off of an overpass, but that would be messy for you guys to clean up. I could do it during the day…."

"Stop that! Fucking stop that!" Brass grabbed her upper arms and pulled her off of the barstool.

"You stop that shit right now! I won't let you make Josie an orphan. Did you think of her at all?"

"Yes dammit! I did. I already have plans. She's to go to Gil for him to raise her. He'll be a good dad and he won't have to worry about me. No one will……" her voice fell to a whisper and her eyes filled with tears. " I am so worthless now. So damaged…"

"No you're not!" Nick charged into the room and turned her around to face him.

"You're not damaged. You're brilliant, caring, and, and…..beautiful. I won't let you talk like that again. Understand me?" Nick spoke and Evangeline nodded.

"You are beautiful and I would take you. Scars and all. I would take you. From the moment that you came to Vegas and I looked in your eyes and knew that I was in love with you Evangeline. I'll help you get through this, I promise. Just, don't do anything drastic OK?" A tear coursed its way down his cheek. "Promise me that you'll try?" She nodded again and cried some more.

"We need to talk." She whispered.

Nick placed a hand on her arm and led her onto the back patio and closed the sliding doors behind them.

"Well Punkin, looks like it's just us for dinner." Jim tickled Josie and she giggled.


	22. You Must Love Me

_**AN: This is the continuation of Chapter 21. I divided it in half. Hope you like fluffy romance. Don't worry, Gil and Sara will get their turn soon.**_

"Ok Nick. Speak." Evangeline said softly as she sat down on one of the white plastic patio chairs.

"Well…um…..I said that you were beautiful…I think." Nick blushed.

"That's not all that you said Nick. You said that you loved me. Were you just trying to make me feel better or are you serious?"

"I'm serious." He knelt down in front of her and placed a warm hand on her cheek. She reached up with her right hand and pushed his hand away.

"I can't even hold your hand Nick. I can't tie my own shoes. Why on earth would you pretend to love me? We hardly know each other. Besides, my brother's your boss."

"I don't care about any of that Evangeline. All I care about is seeing you happy and healthy. I swear, to hear you talk about suicide almost made my heart stop. What possessed you to feel that you were worthless?"

"I don't know." She hung her head and let the tears pour onto the lapel of her pajamas. "I just….I need to be productive again. I thrive on my work and now, I can't even feed myself. I feel so…so…."

Nick silenced her with a tender kiss. She looked at him in shock.

"Do you believe me now?" He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and leaned in for another kiss. This one had a bit more urgency and she responded by throwing her arms around his shoulders and holding on for dear life. Nick pulled away from her only to rest his forehead against hers.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you, I swear on my life. I will keep you and Josie safe with my last breath if you'll let me love you Evangeline. Just let me love you." Nick breathed in her ear.

The two never noticed when Jim closed the window blinds and returned to the kitchen. Smiling, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Sara?"

"What's wrong Jim?"

"Nothing. I just thought that I'd let you know that Nick is making out with Evangeline on your patio and Josie and I are making dinner."

"WHAT!!!?"

"You heard me. Now, enjoy your dinner." He clicked the phone shut and quickly turned it off. He walked over to the land line and pulled the cord from the wall.

"There we go. Let's make them sweat it out for a while shall we?"

Jim and Josie were just settling down to dessert when the front door of the townhouse flew open and a breathless Grissom ran into the kitchen.

"Jim, what the hell is going on? I asked Nick to help watch Josie, not romance my sister!"

"Shhh……they're on the patio and they don't know that I called Sara so keep your freakin voice down. Damn. Can't you let the girl be happy? Nick got her out of her funk. Lasagna?" He gestured to the dish and Grissom shook his head.

A flushed and angry Sara flew into the townhouse holding her high heels in her left hand and her cell phone in her right.

"Jesus Gil! I said they were fine. We were just getting to dessert. That cheesecake looked amazing." She sank down on the sofa and scratched Hank behind the ears.

"You have a huge tendency to overreact."

Grissom stared at her and she chuckled.

"Jim, what happened?" He asked.

"Well, your sister is depressed. She started talking and mentioned that she was considering killing herself and handing over custody of Josie to you." He dished out a scoop of ice cream and handed it to Josie who happily took the bowl and settled on the sofa next to Sara.

"She what?" Grissom asked.

"She said that she was so damaged that no one would ever love her again and she felt like a burden to you and Sara so she was going to kill herself only she couldn't figure out a neat way to do it. " He licked the ice cream scoop and waved it at Grissom. "You should really get you head out of your ass sometimes and listen to what's going on around you in your own house. You would have come home from work one day to find her with her head in the oven Gil. She was serious."

"Umm…I had no idea. I thought that she was a bit depressed but,…"

"A bit depressed? Jesus Gil. The girl can't feed herself and you think she was just feeling a little blue ? How would you feel to have to rely on other people to help you get dressed? You would feel like a burden too."

"He's right Gil. The doctor put her on Cymbalta last week for her depression.  
Sara said softly.

"Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?" Grissom yelled.

"I tried. You kept thinking that things could go on just as they are and she would automatically get better. It doesn't work that way Gil. She needs to feel useful, and loved. Not the way a brother loves her, but the way a man would love her. She needs to feel whole again. " Sara said.

"Do you think that Nick is serious?" Sara asked Jim.

"Well, he looked pretty serious while he was kissing her." Jim answered.

"Kissing her?" Grissom stiffened and started to head toward the patio.

"Hell no Gil. You leave them be." Jim pointed at him. "They'll be fine. Now, get back to that restaurant and wine and in this lovely young lady who's sitting patiently on the couch. Go to Baskin Robbins or something. Just get the hell out of here before they see you. I have to give Punkin a bath and get her to bed. BYE!" He shoved Grissom out the door and Sara followed. Smiling, he slammed it shut behind them and headed back into the living room. He had a rugrat to bathe.


	23. Let Me Go, Please I Need To Do This

Hours later an anxious Grissom and a silent Sara returned to the townhouse. Sara juggled her purse in one hand while balancing a melting chocolate fudge cone in the other. She snickered as Grissom tried to slide the key in the lock as quietly as possible. He shot her a warning glare and she returned to licking her cone. He groaned at the sight of her pink tongue flicking in and out to get the last drop of ice cream from the bottom of her waffle cone.

"Jesus woman, what you do to me. Can't you wait until we get inside?" He whispered.

Sara snickered again and nodded her head. Then she bit into the bottom of the cone and Grissom groaned. He quickly opened the door and the duo slipped inside. Below them in the living room was quite a sight. Nick was sound asleep on the sofa with Josie curled up on his right side. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and she was softly snoring. Nick was facing the TV which was now showing the infamous blue screen indicating that no one had shut off the DVD player after the movie had stopped. Jim Brass was, well, seemingly passed out in the recliner. His head was lolled back against the headrest and his feet were up. A mostly empty beer bottle was clutched limply in his hand and there was a half-empty bowl of popcorn in his lap. There was popcorn scattered on the floor and crushed in the carpet. The remains of dinner were littering the kitchen island and Hank seemed to be half lying in a bowl of melted ice cream.

"Holy hell! What happened in here?" Sara whispered.

Grissom stood in the entryway of his normally immaculate house with his mouth hanging open. He blinked once and turned to stare at Sara.

"So much for our romantic night huh?" Sara said and started towards the kitchen.

"No way! Those two idiots are cleaning this up before they leave." Grissom pointed to the men sleeping in the living room.

He quietly descended the stairs and laid his jacket on the back of the sofa. He leaned down and gently picked Josie up from Nick's shoulder and carried her to her bedroom. After tucking her in, he returned and looked around the disaster area that had once been his townhouse. Reaching down, he shook Brass's shoulder. Getting absolutely no response, he tried Nick. Nothing. Finally he tilted up the back of Brass's chair and unceremoniously dumped him onto the living room floor.

"What the fuck?" Brass yelled as his rump bounced onto the carpet.

The yelling woke Nick who stared at Grissom but said nothing.

"Guys. It's late. We're tired and my house is a disaster zone. Could you please clean up and then go home?" Grissom said expressionless. "And where is my sister Nicholas?"

"Umm…..I think she went to bed, hold on I'll check." Nick staggered to his feet but Grissom placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back down onto the sofa.

"Oh no. I'll do it. You get started on this room." Grissom headed down the hallway shaking his head.

He returned a minute later with a folded piece of paper in his hand. His face was ghostly white and Sara noticed that the hand holding the paper was trembling slightly.

"Gil, honey? What is it?" Sara asked gently reaching out for his arm.

"She's gone." The quiver in his voice bearing witness to his distress.

"Who's gone?" She asked.

"Evangeline. She's gone. She left…..a note." He held the paper out to Sara. Carefully she unfolded the stationery and read the typed note aloud.

'Dear Gil,

I know after all that we have been through recently that you will probably hate me for doing this, but I don't have a choice. When I heard Nick's declaration of love for me I realized that I had to go. I can't allow him to throw away a life of happiness on someone so broken. I think, though, somewhere deep inside I love him too.  
I have decided to give custody of Josephine to you. You will love her as your own child, I know that. Tell her about me one day. Don't tell her about Jason. She only needs to know that her father's dead, and nothing more.

Tell mom that I love her. I always tried to be her perfect little girl and in many ways I feel that I have failed her. My mistakes almost got you killed and put my whole family in harm's way. Now, I am left to be a burden on those I love and I will not watch your lives be destroyed by my reliance on you.

Please forgive me and realize that it's better this way.

I love you,

Evangeline'

**AN:Sorry it took so long to publish. I know this story is headed in a strange direction, but I just let my muse lead me where it wants to go. It's not over yet folks. **


	24. Dark Waters

" Nick, what time did you guys start the movie?" Sara asked watching Grissom pace around the living room.

"Around 9 I think. I remember the first half of the movie. Evangeline was sitting next to me on the couch. I guess I fell asleep. I remember hearing Brass snoring and Josie curling up on my shoulder. That's it. Sorry Gris." Nick hung his head sheepishly but Grissom didn't acknowledge him at all.

"So, that's been, just about two hours ago that she was last seen. Sara, did she take anything with her?" Brass rubbed his forehead and sat down on a barstool.

"As far as I can tell Jim, she took her backpack and some cash. She left her wallet and her credit cards. I think she took her medication but she'll be in serious pain in about three hours when they wear off. She can't get far Jim, those medications make her sleepy. She needs to rest because she had therapy in the morning and a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. Ava will be home tomorrow. Oh God, what are we going to tell her? She can't handle losing Evangeline again Brass. It will kill her." Sara put her hand over her mouth and Brass watched the tears fall down her cheeks.

"Jim, I love her like she was my own sister. We have to find her."

"I'm putting out an APB on her. She can't have gone far in her condition. Gil, she's just not thinking rationally." Brass said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Grissom said so softly that they had to strain to hear him.

_Three hours later at the Crime Lab_

"What do you mean you guys don't have surveillance? What kind of rinky dink bus depot are you running? Idiots." Brass slammed down the phone and looked at Warrick.

"I swear, this is hopeless. That's the fourth bus station I've called that doesn't have surveillance camera in their loading depot. I'm never going Greyhound with that top notch security."

Catherine entered the room holding a piece of paper in her left hand.

"Got a hit! A cab from the Golden Cab Company was dispatched to a pay phone two blocks from Gil's townhouse. Driver picked up a brunette in a green Aeropostale sweatsuit carrying a backpack. The in car camera takes stills every ten seconds, the company sent them over. Driver said he let her off at Boulder Beach Campgrounds. That's at Lake Mead. What was she doing there?"

"She loves the water." Grissom said entering the office. "She has always loved the water. When she was a little girl, she wanted to be a mermaid and I laughed at her. Mom bought her a mermaid doll and she took it everywhere with her for months. She can't get to the ocean, so she went home to the water. She feels safe there."

"Pull in with your lights off. We don't want to freak her out." Brass said through the radio. "Quiet and keep your eyes open."

Gil and Sara followed him in the Denali with Nick and Greg in the backseat. Warrick and Catherine had been called out on a burglary case and had reluctantly left the search to the rest of the team. Brass pulled into the campground office and stepped inside. Gil and Sara pulled up beside him and got out of the Denali. Sara and Nick pulled flashlights out of their kits and scanned the parking lot.

"Gris, we have to find her. I mean, what do you think is going through her mind right now?" Nick asked, the desperation in his voice was obvious.

"Nick, I hope that my feelings are off on this one. I think she means to end it all." Grissom said softly.

"Gil, she wouldn't take her own life would she?" Sara put a hand on his elbow.

"I think she might. Her state of mind is precarious right now. She's angry, depressed and desperate. I don't want to think about her committing……" Grissom's voice choked and he swallowed back the tears that were burning in his eyes.

"It's OK honey. We'll find her and bring her home safely Gil. I promise." Sara held his arm tighter and gave him a slight smile.

Brass emerged from the manager's office and rambled down the stairs. "Manager hasn't seen her, but he does remember a cab pulling in here a while ago. He said, about 10 PM."

"Let's check the lake. She would have gone to the shore." Grissom grabbed a flashlight from Sara and the group began walking toward the lake side.

Evangeline sat solemnly at the lake side listening to the wind rushing through the pines and the crickets chirping in the darkness. She removed her shoes and placed them in her backpack, zipping it closed. Setting the bag down on the ground, she reached into her pocket and slowly removed the plastic baggie and opened it. Staring at the moonlight reflecting across the water, she started placing the pills in her mouth swallowing them down. Her tears carved trails on her cold cheeks.

"This one is for Gil." She swallowed.

"This one is for my baby." Another one.

"This one is for mama." A third one.

"This one is for Sara." A fourth.

"This one is for Nick. I do love you." A fifth one.

"These are for me." She upended the bag and chocked down the rest. Placing the now empty bag on the sand, she stood and walked into the dark water. Slowly, she stepped further into the lake until the water was up to her chin. Lying back, she assumed the dead man's float position and stared up at the night sky.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are." She sang softly to herself and waited for the waters to claim her.


	25. A Plea to Heaven

"Gil! Gil! PD has a chopper up scanning the lake with infrared cameras. If she's out there, they'll spot her!" Brass yelled as the group hurried down the stony path to the lake. They were running now with Grissom and Sara leading and Nick, Greg and Brass behind them.

"I called in a favor and had her listed as a missing person Gil." Brass said when he caught up to Grissom.

Grissom scanned the shoreline. "There are 500 miles of shoreline, this could take days. Look in the easily accessible areas. She hates to hike."

Continuing down the path Sara's flashlight caught something in the beam and she put out her hand to halt Grissom's forward progress.

"Gil Look!" She bent down and picked up a gold bracelet from the dust. She lifted it up into the flashlight's beam to get a closer look.

"It's her bracelet. She must have dropped it here." Gil said.

"How can you tell?" asked Sara.

Grissom flipped the bracelet over to reveal an inscription, " E. A. G. It stands for Evangeline Arianna Grissom. I had it made for her."

Brass shone his light on the path, "Foot prints. Heading that way." He gestured in the direction of the prints. "Keep going."

Grissom stood on the shoreline scanning the lake with his flashlight. The beam bounced off of lake's gentle waves causing the water to sparkle like diamonds. He stared into the blackness looking for any sign of his sister.

"Gris! Over here!" Nick yelled from about 50 yards down the shoreline. "I found a backpack!"

Nick pulled the bag open and pulled out a pair of black Chuck Taylor sneakers. He held them up and Grissom nodded. "Those are her favorites. She wears them all the time when she's not working. Anything else in there?"

"Some cash, a granola bar, her IPod and a picture of you, your mom and Josie. There's an empty plastic bag next to the backpack. What could have been in there?"

Sara picked up the bag and looked inside. "Food maybe? I dunno. Do you see her anywhere?"

They scanned the water.

"Gris, what's that?" Greg pointed to an object floating in the water near the shoreline. Grissom sloshed into the cold water and retrieved the soggy object.

"It's her jacket. Oh God, she's in the water!" He screamed throwing the jacket to the shore. Grissom started swimming out deeper into the black lake. "Help me!"

Sara's heart fell into her stomach at the desperation and fear in his voice. She immediately ran into the water followed by Nick and Greg. Brass stayed on shore screaming into his radio.

"I need that chopper scanning the water near my position. We have reason to believe that she's in the water! I repeat, victim is in the lake!" He began pacing the water's edge frantically searching the shoreline for any sign of….well, her body. He shuddered at the thought and turned his eyes back to the water.

"Nicky! Do you see anything?" Sara yelled as she treaded the water about 15 feet from shore.

"No! You?" he yelled back.

"Nothing! Gil! Don't go out too far!" She yelled to Grissom but he seemed to ignore her.

The noise of the incoming chopper caused them all to stop swimming and look overhead.

"Gil! Thirty feet to your left! The chopper has a heat signature in the water." Brass yelled from shore.

Nick and Grissom began frantically swimming toward where the chopper's spotlight was frozen to the surface of the lake.

"We have visual confirmation!" Brass yelled again over the din of the chopper blades. "She's on the surface."

"I see her!" Nick shouted when he swam up to her body. He reached out and grabbed Evangeline with his left hand and held her head above the water.

"I got her!" Nick yelled as Grissom swam over to him and together they labored to get her back to the shore. Grissom struggled to pull her seemingly lifeless body onto the sand and rolled her onto her back. He immediately listened for breath sounds. Finding some, he tried to wake her up.

"Come one honey! Wake up!" Grissom patted her cheeks and Nicky held her hand.

"Jesus! She's freezing! Greg help me out!" Nick yelled as he began to rub her bare arms to increase the circulation. "Come on darlin'! Wake up for me!" He cried.

"Ambulance is on its way. ETA 10 minutes." Said Brass.

"Dammit Evangeline. What the hell were you thinking? Dammit, dammit!" Grissom began shaking her shoulders.

"Gris! That's not what she needs right now. We need to wake her up." Sara yelled and Grissom stopped shaking his sister. He sat back on the sand and watched Nick and Greg in their attempts to warm her up. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and her teeth began to chatter.

"Oh honey! There you are! Talk to me honey." Nick kissed her cheeks and put his hands on either side of her face. He noticed that her lips were still slightly blue and kissed her soundly.

"Let….me……die….." She whispered. "Put….me…back….in the ….water." She attempted to get up and crawl back into the icy lake but Nick grabbed her and held her tightly around her waist.

"There is no way in hell that I'm letting that happen. You are not going anywhere. Look at me Evangeline." He grabbed her chin and turned her face toward his. He started into her eyes and scowled.

"Honey. Did you take something?" Nick asked quietly.

"Maybe." She whispered.

"What did you take dammit?" Nick hands on her chin began to tremble.

"Something. You're too late. You should have let me drown." She said softly. Her eyes began to drift shut again and Nick shook her shoulders trying vainly to keep her awake.

"Shit! What did you do? Oh God!"

In the overwhelming blackness, Evangeline never heard his plea to heaven as she slipped from his grasp and fell to the beach unconscious.


	26. A Silver Lining

"How is she?" Brass remerged into the hospital waiting room with another cup of coffee. He handed it to Nick who just shrugged his shoulders and stared at the tiled floor.

"No word yet. It took a while to determine what she took. In addition to the hypothermia and near drowning, she's pretty bad." Sara whispered. Quietly, she took Brass's arm and led him into the hallway out of earshot.

"How's he taking it?" Brass pointed to Grissom who sat motionless in the chair.

"He blames himself for not noticing it sooner. You know how he likes to think that he's in control of every situation. Well, he couldn't control Evangeline. The fact that she got so desperate while living under his care is killing him. I don't know what to do Jim. I thought that once Jason was dead and they were both home and healing that life would move on. But it hasn't. Evangeline is so depressed and in so much pain. I never noticed her mental state either until her doctor prescribed those antidepressants." Sara paused and took a sip of her coffee. "I mean, she never said anything. That's how the two of them are alike you know. They clam up and hold everything inside until they snap. Sad huh?"

Brass nodded. "I know." He sighed. "Have you contacted Ava?"

"No. Not until we know something. Gil doesn't want her any more upset that necessary. I disagree, but, it's not my mother who will be pissed. It's his problem." Sara smirked. "I will not cross Ava. She could probably still kick my ass, even at her age."

"No doubt." Brass agreed.

"Gil mentioned that he thought that Evangeline should be committed to the psych ward for evaluation. Nick exploded on him yelling that she wasn't crazy and he had no right. I thought it was going to turn into a fist fight Jim. It was tense while you were out getting coffee." Sara polished off her coffee and tossed the cup into the trash.

"God, I need a smoke. I quit years ago, but my nerves are shot." Sara scratched the linoleum with the toe of her boot and stared up into Brass's eyes. "How did our lives get so fucked up Jim?" Her lips quivered and tears formed in her lower lids. "What happened to our happy ending? I got him back Jim. He came back to me after being gone for all those days and he was relatively ok. You can hardly see the scars on his lips. His nightmares stopped and we were getting our lives back. I mean, I don't blame Evangeline, God no, but, why didn't we see something sooner? Why did I not see something? I knew she was struggling but never in a million years did I remotely imagine that she would try to kill herself. Not once. I thought she would, well, I don't know anymore what I thought. I understand her though. In my depression, well, you know what I found in the bottom of a bottle." She looked at Brass and he grinned.

"I remember. I remember a certain supervisor picking your drunk ass up and taking you home."

"Thanks. I wasn't drunk by then anyway." Sara punched him in the arm and he scowled.

"I just don't know what to do now to help her heal. To help them both heal. I just hope that it's not too late."

"I know Sara. I think she'll be fine, physically anyway. Oh, here comes her doctor."

He led Sara back into the waiting room where she immediately sat down next to Grissom and wrapped her arm around his hunched shoulders. He didn't seem to acknowledge her touch until she felt his hand reach up and grasp hers. She noticed that it was cold.

"Mr. Grissom?" The doctor flipped through his chart and looked at Gil.

"Yes?"

"Well, you sister should be fine in a few hours. We managed to counteract the overdose in enough time to prevent any major damage. She had a touch of hypothermia, so we got her warmed up and she is resting comfortably. I will let you know that we can't recommend involuntary commitment to a mental health facility, but we do notify a counselor in cases of attempted suicide." The doctor finished his statement and stood quietly.

Nick shot Grissom an angry look.

"Thank you doctor, the counselor will not be necessary. She already has a therapist and I would not commit my little sister to a mental health facility without her consent. When can we take her home?" Grissom looked back to Nick who was smiling through unshed tears.

"You can take her home in the morning Mr. Grissom. She needs rest and a lot of understanding."

"How I know." Grissom responded as he squeezed Sara's hand.

" I really do recommend that she have a follow-up appointment just to see how she's doing. I'll have one of the nurses set one up for you."

"Thank you." Grissom shook the doctor's hand and watched the man leave the room.

"Gris, can I go see her?" Nick stepped forward and carefully watched Grissom's face for a response.

"Yes. Go ahead. We'll be in later."

Nick started for the door and Grissom spoke again, "I know that you love her. Maybe you are what she needs to get well. You might be able to give her what I can't."

"Gil." Sara said softly. "I know how much you love her. Sometimes love just isn't enough."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"She needs time and patience. She needs to get it through her head that she is loved and useful. She needs to go back to work. Do you think she could do any work at the lab? I know, the field is out of the question, but can she help in the lab once she gets better? She can partially use one hand, but she could help Hodges a little. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. Mom already watches Josie during the day to teacher her ASL, she could just keep her so Evangeline could sleep. Do you think she's up to going back to work? I know I could get it past Conrad with no problem. It would ultimately be her decision."

"Gil, it would give her something to strive for and it might even speed her recovery. We can try."

Grissom pulled her had to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. "You can always see light where there is dark can't you? I do love you Sara Sidle. I can't imagine my life without you."

"See, things will get better. I know they will." Sara smiled.


	27. I Need You

**Two Weeks Later**

A very sleepy Evangeline padded her way to the front door of the Grissom household to see whoever was now incessantly knocking.

"Hold on! I'm coming." She yawned while unlatching the lock. She peered through the peephole and a slight smile spread across her face.

She opened the door halfway and stuck her head into the hallway.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey back." Nick responded holding a white paper bag up to eye level. "Hungry?"

"Sure. Come one in." She stepped back allowing the door to open fully so Nick could get inside.

"You all alone darlin'?" He asked stepping into the entryway.

"Yeah. Mom took Josie to the park with Hank and Gil and Sara are working on a hot case. Everyone should be home in a few hours. What are you doing here? My brother doesn't have you slaving away in the lab this morning?"

"I just finished shift. I wrapped my case." He smiled as he set the bag on the kitchen island. "Gris and Sara are working a double homicide on Freemont Street. Hooker and her John behind a dumpster."

"Great. They're gonna stink later. I hope we still have some lemons in the fridge. Coffee?"

"Sure." She poured him a mug and set down at the counter.

"How are you feeling darlin'? The hands look better." Nick said as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, it's been pretty amazing so far. I have most of my fingers back on my right hand except the pinky and the left is starting to loosen up. They doubled my physical therapy sessions and added some new techniques that seem to be working. At least I can fingerspell enough to communicate with mom and Josie better. Mom keeps working with Josie teaching her how to lipread better. She's so smart. So, what did you bring me?" She gestured toward the bag.

"Only the best bagels in Vegas. And, I brought Philly cream cheese."

"Ohhh, my favorite." She smiled as Nick drew two bagels from the bag and slathered them each with a thick layer of cheese. He handed one of the halves to Evangeline and she took a big bite.

"Ummm….just what the doctor ordered. Thank you."

Nick reached up with his thumb and swiped a blob of cream cheese from the side of her mouth. "You had a little bit right there….." He put his thumb in his mouth and licked the cheese off. "…..but I got it for ya."

"Thanks." She whispered. "Nick, I have been meaning to apologize to you."

"For what? For hurting? No darlin', you don't have to apologize. I should have seen how down you were before my expressed my feelings for you. I know I probably only added to the stress you were under. "

"No Nick, it's not that. I mean, I was a fool not to let you in. I didn't let anyone in. I shut the world out and did something really stupid. I'm sorry." She looked down at the floor. Nick grabbed her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Placing his hands on either side of her face he moved in for a kiss. It was chaste and brief, but oh so sweet. Evangeline responded immediately by grabbing the back of his head and pulling him to her once more. Their tongues dueled for dominance in a sweet wet game of desire and raw emotion. Nick pulled away breathless only to rain tender kisses up her jawline and into her hair. He kissed her forehead and his hands moved lower to encircle her back. She moaned and titled her head back to give him better access to her neck and the area below her left ear that drove her wild with need. He pulled away and looked into her brilliant blue eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered.

"Yes. Make me whole again Nick. I want to feel alive."

There were no more words spoken only moans and whispers of love. He moved toward her so that she was pinned up against the kitchen island. He placed his hands on either side of her pining her in place while he ravaged her lips with kisses so passionate that Evangeline swore that she saw stars behind her eyelids. She groaned when one of his hands began to caress her stomach in tiny circles. He slowly lifted the hem of her t-shirt and she gasped at the warmth from his hand. She immediately felt the goosebumps form and she giggled. He stopped and looked at her giving her time to remove her shirt and toss it to the floor. He paused for a moment and looked at her. Nick gently ran a finger over her emerald green bra and felt her nipple harden to his touch. She quivered slightly and closed her eyes. Taking that as a cue to continue, he removed her bra and tossed it to the ground. He bent slightly and took her left nipple into his mouth. She moaned and tangled her right hand into his hair. Her left hand, still in its brace, remained motionless at her side. He moved to her right breast and lavished it with his tongue while his hand twisted and tweaked her other nipple. She began to write under his touch. He stopped and looked into her eyes which were now as blue as the deep ocean. Her lidded gaze spoke volumes about the hunger in her soul. He would make her feel alive again. He would do anything for her right now, kill for her, die for her. It didn't matter. She was all that he needed.

Nick lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall to her bedroom like a bridegroom carries his bride over the threshold. For them, it was a wedding of sorts. A holy union of two needy souls. He carefully laid her onto the soft sheets and lay so that he hovered over her resting his weight on one arm. The other arm was under her neck cradling her head, his fingers twirling through her loose curly hair. He leaned down into another kiss and she wriggled beneath him. Using her one good hand, she pulled at his shirt trying to free it from his tight ass-hugging jeans.

"I'll do that. You just lay back." He sat up and removed his shirt, pants, socks and boots, leaving him standing there is a very tiny pair of while cotton briefs.

"A brief man huh? I always pictured you as the boxer type." She smirked.

"Nope. I'm a cowboy and we don't leave anything to the imagination. The tighter the better." He laughed and leapt back onto the bed. "Now you, my darlin', are over dressed." He pulled her sweatpants free from her body and gazed lovingly at her now naked form. "Commando?" He questioned.

"I was going to do laundry today." She smirked back at him.

"Works for me!" He grinned running a hand up her left thigh. "You are so beautiful Evangeline. So lovely, like a meadow on a summer day."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." She smiled.

He leaned down and began to ravish her breasts again with his tongue and she jumped when her bit down gently on one nipple. His hand crept lower and lower until it reached her belly button. He circled it once or twice with his finger. He continued lower until he reached her center. She quivered slightly and then her hips thrust toward his touch. He swept his finger around her juicy folds until he found that tender bundle of nerves and he rubbed it gently. She moaned her need into his mouth as he kissed her and he responded by rubbing faster. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest and he breath started to come faster. She heaved little gasps of delight and he could feel the warmth spreading throughout her body. The next time she arched into his touch, he inserted a finger into her core and she groaned loudly. He shifted his hand and placed his thumb onto her clit and added another finger into her wet center. He continued his gentle touches until she spoke "Now, I want you now!"

With surprising speed, he divested himself of his briefs and plunged into her in one smooth stroke. She yelped and he froze.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No. God no. Just, go slow." She whimpered. He nodded and began a slow and easy rhythm. Long smooth strokes with a slight pause between each one to allow her time to grow accustomed to him. After a few minutes she leaned up to his ear, "Fuck me so hard that I forget my own name Nick."

He responded by thrusting harder into her. Her head bounced off of the headboard once or twice but she didn't really notice. Soon, she felt the heat of her impending orgasm and kissed him soundly screaming into his mouth. He followed her soon afterward collapsing in a heap of sweaty limbs and heaving hearts.

"Wow." He gasped. "Oh God, I love you."

"I know. Just hold me for a while OK? Don't go. Please don't go."

"Never. I'll never let you go."

_**OKThis story needed smut. Sigh. **_


	28. All Is Right With the World

"Jesus Gil, I so need a shower." Sara complained as she opened the door to the darkened townhouse. "That scene reeked."

"Well my dear, there's nothing quite as pungent as a full dumpster on a 110 degree day. Ahh….you're cute when you whine." He smiled as she pushed past him into the kitchen.

"I so need a shower, do we have any more……." Her voice stopped in her throat.

"Sara, what's wrong? What did you…..oh?!" Grissom stopped short at the sight in the kitchen. His eyes opened to the size of saucers when Sara held up an emerald green bra with her index finger and then he quickly turned away.

"Gil, why is your sister stripping in our kitchen? Wait, what's with this bag?" She pointed toward the white bag on the counter. Her eyes scanned the two cold cups of coffee and a half eaten bagel. She placed a hand over her mouth when Grissom picked up Nick's jacket from the back of the sofa.

"Oh my! Ummm, Gil?" Sara whispered.

Grissom turned and headed down the hallway with Sara following closely behind him. She grabbed his arm before he turned the doorknob into Evangeline's room.

"Stop!" She whispered. "She deserves some privacy too you know, and a love life. Don't open that door Gilbert!"

He scoffed at her and eased the door open. Sara leaned around him and peeked in the door. In the dim light from the hallway they both saw Nick's bare back and the top of Evangeline's head. Two bodies intertwined in a post-coital slumber. Grissom quickly shut the door with a soft click and they headed back into the kitchen.

"I told you so." Sara smiled.

"Mom will be pleased. I'm, uh, I'm well, shocked." Grissom stammered.

"Why? Does it frighten you to know that your sister is human after all? She deserves to be happy Gil. He loves her. I know Nick. He's a man of his word and he will never hurt her. I'm happy for them." Sara defiantly crossed her arms in front of her and stood in the hallway.

"We should wake them up before Mom gets back with Josie. That little elf will run straight to her mother's room when she gets in and I don't want her seeing Nick in her momma's bed." Grissom whispered.

"Good point. I'll wake them in a little while. Let's just go take a shower Bugman. I still smell terrible."

"Hmm…you're on. Lead on my lady."

After an invigorating shower, Sara dressed in sweats and padded her way to Evangeline's room.

"Evangeline, Nick, you two need to get up now." She said through the half open door.

"Huh? Oh, Ok. Nick, Nick, get up honey." Evangeline nudged him until he opened his eyes and gazed at her.

"Morning beautiful. Did you sleep well?" He kissed the tip of her nose and she smiled.

"Uh huh. You?"

"Yes. I guess we should get up. I probably have to explain myself to my boss now." Nick hung his head and Evangeline swore that she saw him grin in the dim light.

"You snake. Stop smiling. He's probably figured it out by now and I'm sure he's more than a little upset. He still thinks of me as a little girl in pigtails and nothing will ever change that. I'm sure his imagination is in overdrive right now and I'm not making it any worse. Now, get up and get dressed. I'll be out in a few minutes." She rolled into his embrace and kissed him.

"Keep that up darling and Grissom will have a sound track to add to his vivid imagination!"

She smacked him and gave him a hard push.

"UMPH!" Nick rolled out of bed and landed on the carpet. "You minx! Not fair."

Evangeline started laughing. She laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks and she held her stomach. Soon Nick joined in and their laughter echoed down the hall to the island where Grissom and Sara were sitting sipping coffee.

"Now that's a sound that I've missed. " Grissom said wistfully.

"What sound is that Gil?"

"My sister laughing. That's such a sweet sound. Almost musical. She used to laugh all the time, before Jason. She was always smiling. She loved life. Jason took that all away from her and I thought that she would never get it back." He smiled and his eyes grew glassy. Sara looked at him and smiled back.

"I hope Nick makes her as happy as you make me Sara." Grissom reached out and took her hand in his. She squeezed his hand back and leaned over for a gentle kiss.

"Thank you."

"Sara, I'm going to make some more coffee."

At that moment Nick emerged from the bedroom looking flushed and a bit disheveled.

"Grissom I……"

"Nick! Don't apologize. I just need to know one thing. Do you love her?"

"Yes. More than anything."

"Then don't apologize to me. Just, make her happy."

"That I can do Boss."

Nick accepted a cup of coffee from Sara and sat down at the island.

"So, does this mean that I can call you Bro?"

"Don't push it Nicky my boy. Don't push it." Grissom smiled and Nick grinned back.

"Are we ok then?" Nick asked the room.

"Yeah Nick. We're more than Ok. "

The End.

_**AN: This is where I am going to end this story. There is a sequel in the works so if you love the saga of Nick, Evangeline, Gris, & Sara, it's coming. There will be love, angst, babies and a custody battle in the works. That's the entire sneak peak that you get! Love and laughter! **_

_**Sunnybaby AKA Tiff**_


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